Big Trouble in Little Konoha
by pyscho mantis
Summary: At the age of 5, Uzumaki Naruto's world is turned upside down with the arrival of a ancient power that makes the Kyuubi look like a stuffed animal. What do these new arrivals desire and how does Naruto fit in? Heavy Sasuke, Sakura, and Ino bashing
1. The Arrival

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto/Big Trouble in Little China nor any characters or abilities created by Masashi Kishimoto or John Carpenter.

**Date:** 05/31/10

**Summary:** At the age of 5, Uzumaki Naruto world is turn upside down with the arrival of a power that makes the Kyuubi look like a stuffed animal. What do these new arrivals desire and how does Naruto fit in? With a completely different sensei and techniques, can Naruto finally put an end to a war that transends the ninja world, itself?

**Reviews:** Please review. Even bad reviews are welcome. It's better than nothing. But try to be gentle, it's my first time(pun intended). Enjoy!

**Big Trouble in Little Konoha**

_The Prologue_

_An old man sits in the Hokage's office, across from the Sandaime Hokage himself. The Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, lights his pipe and takes a long drag off of it. Smoking always seemed to calm him down and, after this day, he would need it._

"So Mister..." "Egg Shen... just Egg Shen" the old man said. "Egg Shen-san, I would first like to thank you for meeting me without any resistance. Due to the seriousness of this situation, I'm sure that you understand why this meeting was such an important issue to, both, myself and the council of this village." said the Sandaime Hokage. "I do" was the only response that Egg Shen gave the Hokage.

"First I would like to speak to you about the actions and mysterious background of one of my own shinobi, Mister Uzumaki Na-" was all that 'The Professor' got to say before being rudely cut off by Egg Shen. "You leave Uzumaki Naruto alone!" yelled Egg Shen. "Uzumaki Naruto is not only a hero of this village, but this entire world! The sacrifices that he made were nothing short of heroic, and he shouldn't have to be under interrogation for it!" Egg Shen shouted.

"Now see here, Egg Shen-san, this is my village. Therefore, I have the right to interrogate any shinobi under my command that I see fit to interrogate." said a slightly irritated Sarutobi Hiruzen. "Well, I am not one of your shinobi." said Egg Shen, with a smirk. "And while we're on the subject, where were you when young Naruto was chased out of his home and village, Sandaime _Hokage_" Egg Shen spat.

Now, Sarutobi was fuming. How dare this outsider suggest that he hadn't done everything in his power to keep Naruto safe? "My whereabouts are no concern to an foreigner like you! If I were you, I'd watch my tone, otherwise you may find yourself rotting in a Konoha prison cell!" Sarutobi spat back at the short old man sitting across from him.

Sarutobi had not gotten the reaction that he had expected. The short old man began to chuckle. His chuckle then turned into full out laughter. Sarutobi was literally shaking with anger. The killing intent rolled off of Sarutobi like fumes rising off of gasoline. Egg Shen's laughter suddenly died down and he narrowed his eyes at the Hokage sitting across from him."I'd like to see that. Don't let my appearance fool you, Sarutobi. You are not even half of my age and your current power is less than Naruto's. You pose little threat to me, Hokage" said Egg Shen.

"IS THAT A FACT?" said an angry Sarutobi, though it wasn't meant to be a question. "Yes, and it could be a very painful one"(_Rocky IV_) retorted Egg Shen. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be on my way. Tell Naruto that he knows where to find me" said Egg Shen as he stood and turned to walk toward the door. "ANBU, SEIZE THAT MAN!" yelled Sarutobi. Suddenly, six Anbu guards dove on the old man, from out of nowhere. Once they finally wrestled the old man to his stomach, face against the wooden floor, Sarutobi walked over to the old man. "So much for being out of my league, old man" said Sarutobi, with a fairly smug look on his face.

Suddenly, Sarutobi's eyes went wide. "HOKAGE-SAMA, THIS IS MOST UNYOUTHFUL OF YOU." said a subdued Maito Gai, with a frown on his face. The six Anbu guards immediately release Gai and the Hokage apologized. "YOSH! I WILL RE-IGNITE HOKAGE-SAMA'S FLAMES OF YOUTH BY-". "Please, escort Gai-san out of my office" Sarutobi said, while rubbing his temples. "Hai, Hokage-sama" said the six Anbu in unison. Once Sarutobi's office was empty, Sarutobi walked to his window and looked to the Hokage monument. "What have you gotten yourself involved in, Naruto?" Sarutobi asked to no one in particular.

_Chapter 1: The Arrival_

_On the 5th anniversary of the Kyuubi attack, young Uzumaki Naruto sits against the front door of his apartment, terrified. If this anniversary was anything like the others that he could remember, he was in for a long night. It had become a ritual to beat and rape the young jinchuuriki on this very day. It seemed like an endless cycle to him. Just when he thought that he had recovered from the trauma of the events that occurred the year before, October 10th would be back upon him. Naruto had been too afraid to tell the anyone what was happening to him out of fear, fear that it would only make the situation worse. So here he was, sitting in front of his apartment door with his knees to his chest and tears running down his cheeks. Then, the inevitable happens..._

(Multiple footsteps can be heard in front of Naruto's door)

"You know what time it is, demon! Now, open this goddamn door!" said one of the clearly intoxicated men outside of Naruto's door. Naruto put all of the weight of his little body against his door, hoping that his door would be strong enough to handle the mob outside of it.

After 5 minutes of kicking and beating the door, just a preamble of what they had in store for Naruto, the door started to show signs of breaking. Naruto realized that his only chance was to head for the window, which would give him a headstart from the mob outside his door. Naruto bolted for the window, opened it up, and jumped out; but not before the door caved and he was spotted.

"He went out of the window! Cut him off downstairs!" shouted one of the men. The terrified little boy jumped off the roof and sprinted towards the forest, in hopes of losing his pursuers in the darkness of the forest. Fortunately for the young boy, the mob of villagers were more than a little drunk, making a high-speed pursuit in the darkness of the forest virtually impossible. But, unfortunately for the young boy, he hadn't noticed the lack of insults and threats behind him and he continue to sprint through the darkness of the forest.

After 15 minutes of sprinting in the dark forest, Naruto crashed into something that was as hard as a rock. Before passing out, Naruto saw three men dressed, identically, in gray, retro-ninja outfits(without the mask), brown capes, and bamboo hats. Before Naruto could say anything, a thin, 7 foot man with pale skin and a long black goatee, which matched his long black hair, came from behind the three. Naruto noticed three things about this man before he went blank.

The first thing was that the man's fingernails were the longest that he had ever seen on a man, especially the nails on the man's pinky fingers. The nails on the pinky finger were at least 6 inches long, curved, and looked as if they had been dipped in gold. The last two things that Naruto noticed were the man's eyes and the man's mouth. The man was smiling at him, but the smile didn't match the eyes. This man's eyes held no emotion whatsoever.

Suddenly, the smile was gone from the man's man's eyes narrowed towards Naruto and his mouth opened, as if he were going to speak. However, the only sound Naruto heard was a high-pitch screech from the old man's mouth. With the screech came bright white light, coming from the old man's mouth and eyes. With that, Naruto blacked out.

At that moment, one of the three dressed as ninja took a step toward the boy. He then removed his bamboo hat, revealing a tan face, brown eyes, and short, black hair that was neatly brushed. He then spoke to the old, pale skin man. "Lo Pan-sama, is this the one that you have been waiting for? He seems far too weak to have such a significant role in your plans.

Lo Pan chuckled at the ignorance of his subordinate. "You are correct, Thunder. However, this child has more potential than any of you. Once we are finished with him, he will become the leader and new addition to the three storms." At this, one of the other three ninja stepped forward, furiously removing his bamboo hat. Like the other ninja, he too had tan skin and well-groomed, black hair, but his hair was long and came to his shoulder blades."You can not be serious Lo Pan-sama!". At this, Lo Pan narrowed his eyes at furious subordinate. "Hold your tongue, Rain." Seeing his master's killing intent spike, Rain immediately dropped to his knees and bowed his head.

"Forgive me, Master. I forget my place". Before he could say anything else, the last of the three stepped forward and removed his bamboo hat, revealing the same tan skin and black hair; though his black was short and spikey. "I think that it is a splendid idea Lo Pan-sama." Lo Pan smiled at his oldest subordinate. "You two should take notes from your older brother. Lightning, you are indeed wise."

"Thank you, Lo Pan-sama. With the way his village treats him, he will probably be loyal to the first ones that acknowledge him. You are truly a genius Lo Pan-sama. Also, his last name is Uzumaki, or Whirlpool. How fitting. It's as if he was born to be one of us" said Lightning with a small bow. "Rain, carry the boy. We're leaving" said Lo Pan. "Hai, Lo Pan-sama". And with that, they vanished without a trace.

_Seven Years Later..._

"Man, this is bullshit. I hate doing this damn gate guard duty" said one of the chuunin gate guards. "Man, just sit down and relax. I'm sure that there will come a time when we wish we could sit on our asses all day. Enjoy it while you can, or at least shut up and let _me_ enjoy it" said the other gate guard. "Lazy asshole..." mumbled the irritated gate guard.

Before the other gate guard could retort, they saw someone walking toward the Konoha gate. Both gate guards jumped to attention, ready for a possible battle. They had received no word from the Hokage about any foreign ninja or diplomat coming to visit Konoha today. Since they could only sense one person, they doubted that he was just returning from a mission, otherwise he would have his teammates with him.

The closer the figure got to the gate, the more that they were certain that this person was not from Konoha. Just his style of clothing screamed 'foreigner'. The figure wore a gray, retro-ninja outfit; which they had only seen in movies and video games, but wore no mask. Covering his uniform, which had no sign of any kind of alliance with Konoha or any other village, was a brown cape. Finally, he wore a bamboo hat over his head, which covered his face and eyes.

As the figure finally stopped in front of the gate, the two gate guards dropped their guard a little, realizing that it was just a kid. "State your name and business, gaki" stated one of the guards, in a tone of authority. The kid then lifted his bamboo hat, revealing his face and a set of cold, emotionless, deep blue eyes; eyes that just didn't seem normal on any normal person, let alone a kid. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto and I am from this village" said the young boy in an emotionless tone that matched his eyes.

As soon as the two guards heard the name, their eyes hardened with hatred. They would recognize that name anywhere. It was the name of the demon brat. "I'm sorry but Konoha has no room for the likes of you, demon" one of the guards spat. Naruto gave no hint that he had even heard the comment, until he spoke again, though there was still no emotion in his voice. "Get out of my way...or you will die...then your family will die."

Normally, a chuunin wouldn't stand for that kind of talk from someone who wasn't even an academy student, however this was the reincarnation of the kyuubi. There was no telling what something like that could do. Besides that, there was nothing in the boy's face that said that he was bluffing. On the contrary, he looked like he would be more than happy to carry out that threat. Both guard felt genuine fear at the killing intent that spilled from the boy like lava from a volcano.

Luckily, for the guards, divine intervention came in the form of an Anbu team coming from a mission. A group of four Anbu appeared at the gate, next to the gate guards, and was about to enter the village until they felt the tension between the gate guards and the mysterious stranger. The leader of the group of Anbu, wearing a dog mask, walked up to the gate guard, while keeping an eye on the stranger, who had his features covered with the bamboo hat. "Can we be of some assistance to you guys?" asked the dog masked Anbu captain.

"Dog-sama, this dem-" said the guard until he felt the killing intent wash over him once again, as if daring him to finish that statement. "I mean, this kid wants entry into this village. He goes by the name of Uzumaki Naruto". The dog masked Anbu's eyes went wide when he heard the name. "I'll take him to the Hokage's office, I'm on my way to the Hokage tower anyway." said the dog masked Anbu. "Hai, Dog-sama" said the guard.

"Follow me, Naruto" said Dog. Naruto stood still for a moment, still staring at the two gate guards, as if he had unfinished business with them. "Naruto! Let's go" said Dog. Naruto turned his head slowly to look at the Dog before turning back to look at the two guards again. Naruto smiled a wicked smile at the guards before leaving with Dog, leaving the guards truely terrified with thoughts of coming home to a slaughtered family.

_Ten minutes later_

"Hokage-sama" said Dog. "Ah, Dog-san. I take it that the mission was a success?" asked the old Hokage. "Hai, Hokage-sama, though the mission report will have to wait until tomorrow." said Dog. "And what, might I ask, is so important that you would wait until tomorrow to turn in your mission report?" asked the Hokage with a raise eyebrow. At that, Dog opened the office door and beckoned Naruto to come in. "And who is this young man?" asked the Hokage. "Uzumaki Naruto, Hokage-sama" said Naruto, before Dog could introduce him.

Sarutobi was in a state of shock, then anger. "How dare you! Dog-san! What is the meaning of this!" yelled the old Hokage, scowling. Seeing Sarutobi's reaction, Naruto decided to remove his bamboo hat, completely showing his hair and face. Once Sarutobi saw the boy's features, there was no denying it. It was like staring at a mini Yondaime Hokage. Even his hair had grown to look like his father's, which could become a problem if anyone had taken the time to notice. But, then again, Naruto had always looked somewhat similar to the Yondaime anyway. The only difference between Naruto and the young Minato Namikaze was the eyes. The colors were exactly the same but, where Minato had a light of innocence and life, Naruto's held corruption and death.

"Naruto, is it really you?" asked the old Hokage. Naruto simply nodded, showing no emotion. "Where have you been, Naruto? We thought that you were killed seven years ago, by some drunken idiots that bragged about chasing you out of your apartment. Needless to say, they were executed immediately after we found their claims to be true" said the old man. Naruto stared at the old Hokage with an uncaring look on his face. "You just answered you own question, Hokage-sama. After being chase out of the village, I wandered to the Rice Country and stayed there, doing odd jobs to survive. Word of the execution of the villagers that try to kill me reach me just two weeks ago, so I left the Rice Country and headed back to Konoha" lied Naruto.

Dog shook his head, ashamed of his own village. Then the Hokage asked a question that actually seemed to strike a nerve with Naruto. "What are your plans now that you are back in Konoha, Naruto?" asked Sarutobi. Without hesitation, Naruto answered, "I would like to pursue a ninja career, that much has not changed". Sarutobi stared at Naruto with a critical eye before nodding to himself. "Very well, Naruto. You will start your first day at the Academy tomorrow. Granted, most of the students your age are already on their last year, but the four years at the Academy are a necessity for students, because it helps them become more well-rounded ninja. Do you understand, Naruto?". Naruto mentally snorted. "Yes, Hokage-sama". "Good, Naruto. You will spend the rest of the day getting settle back into Konoha and tomorrow you start at the Academy. Here's some money to get whatever you need. I assure you that we will not tolerate anyone that tries to give you problems" said Sarutobi, as he handed Naruto an envelope full of money. "Thank you, Hokage-sama" said Naruto, as he bowed and left the office.

"Kakashi-san, see to it that he is well taken care of" said Sarutobi. "Hai, Hokage-sama". Before Kakashi left, he turned back around to face Sarutobi. "Hokage-sama, I request to leave my position as Anbu captain, so I can acquire my own team of genin". "Planning to take Naruto as your student when the time comes?" asked Sarutobi. "I owe Minato-sensei that much." answered Kakashi. "Very well, you will served as Anbu captain until I can find a suitable replacement. Dismissed". With that Kakashi vanished from the office.

_As Naruto walks down the streets of Konoha, he notices surprised and hateful glares directed toward him._

_Well, I guess I should look the part of a normal Academy student. I still can't believe how gullible that Hokage is. Well, that should just make it easier to complete my mission for Lo Pan-sama. OK, first stop, clothing store. Next, weapons shop. And lastly, food shopping._

_After getting everything he needed, Naruto returned to his old apartment to get some rest before his first day at the Academy. Before lying down, Naruto put his supplies away, cleaned his old apartment, and did some meditation. After an two hour of meditation, Naruto laid down and fell into a sleepless dream._

_The next morning, Naruto was up at 6:00 am, two hours before he had to be at the Academy. After showering and eating breakfast, Naruto got dressed and went to a random, empty training ground to do a quick morning workout. Instead of his usual gray, retro ninja outfit, brown cape, and bamboo hat; Naruto wore a white, hooded, zip-up sweatshirt with three thin black stripes going up the sleeves(think adidas hoodie), and black cargo shorts. Naruto thought that the look would help him blend in with the rest of the students, however, he couldn't be more wrong. Word of the return of the demon brat spread like wildfire, in a gasoline soaked forest. Most of the parents had aleady taken precautions by telling the children to stay away from the demon brat. Though they were still children, they did not miss the venom in their parent's words, which instantly formed their opinion of said boy._

_After finishing his workout at 7:45 am, Naruto made his way to the Academy. While on his way to the Academy, Naruto noticed the hateful glares directed towards him, he just really didn't care. Of course, he had the urge to kill them where they stood, but his mission came first. Eventually, they would all pay. Naruto made his way into the Academy and to his designated classroom, opening the door, revealing 30 snort-nosed kids, that wouldn't know their asshole from a hole in the ground, and a chuunin instructor that he could've beaten when he was seven._

"Uzumaki Naruto, I presume?" asked the chuunin instructor, with a glare. He only received a nod from Naruto. "Take your sit right here, in the front of the class. I'm sure that these children could learn a thing or two from you if your sitting in the front of the class." said the chuunin instructor. _"This is perfect. I can drill the demon on advanced Academy material. He'll give up before the first semester is over." _Naruto knew what his teacher was planning, and smirked at the chuunin instructor. "I agree" said Naruto.

Within the first hour, the chuunin instructor drilled Naruto on material that was impossible for even a fourth year student to answer. What was even more surprising was that Naruto answered every question correctly, from history to advanced chakra control, Naruto answered every question correctly.

At first, the chuunin instructor was seething. After he started to calm down a little, he came up with a brillant idea. _"This is perfect! Now that I have a reason, I can skip him to a fourth year student. Sure, he may be advance as far as book-wise, but there is no way that he's advanced enough, in a practical sense, to keep up with a fourth year student. Not only can I be rid of the demon brat, but I can see to it that he is broken by the fourth year students and instructors. I'm a genius" _thought the chuunin instructor_. _"Naruto, you are amazing! You even answered the questions that were straight out of the fourth year curriculum. You are far too advance to be in this class. Here, take this note to the classroom five doors down from this classroom and give it to the instructors of that class" the chuunin instructor said, while scribbling on a sheet of paper. After taking the note, Naruto left the classroom. He had hoped that this would happen, otherwise it would make it incredibly hard for him to complete his mission while attending that idiotic class.

Opening the door of the fourth year classroom, Naruto sees two chuunin instructors. The first instructor, a light-blue haired chuunin, glares at him, while the other instructor, a chuunin with a high pony tail and a scar on the bridge of his nose, gives him more of a questioning gaze. Before either of the two chuunin could speak, Naruto hands the scarred chuunin the notes from his previous instructor. After reading the note, the scarred chuunin instructor says "Well, looks like we have a new student". "What!" yelled the blue haired chuunin. "Calm down, Mizuki. We can handle one more student." said the scarred chuunin instructor. "Iruka, we will have to slow down our curriculum so this little brat can keep up" said Mizuki, though that had little to do with why he didn't want Naruto to join the class. The truth was, some of his friends were put to death over the demon brat seven years ago and Mizuki still hadn't gotten over it. "Actually, his last instructor says that he's quite advanced, more than enough for this class" Iruka said, matter-of-factly. With that said, Naruto walk to an empty seat in the back of the class, while Mizuki glared at his back.

All of the student stared at the new kid, some with hateful glares, others with curious ones. Naruto ignored them while Iruka and Mizuki started their lecture again. Like his first class, Naruto was bombarded with questions, some were questions that no Academy student could answer, but Naruto managed to get them right.

"Naruto, how long can one fight after ingesting a military rations pill?" "Three days and three nights, Mizuki-sensei"."OK, name the three colored pills and what they do". "They are the Horengan pill, the Karegan pill, and the Tongarashigan pill. They convert the body's fat reserves into chakra, making it the perfect weapon for the Akimichi clan, though it is said that after taking all of the pills, death is imminent." As Naruto continued to answer Mizuki question, the students looked on in shock. Not even Chouji knew that many facts about military rations pills, and he was an Akimichi.

"Mizuki, it's 10:00 am. It's time to move on from the lectures and onto the physical education." said Iruka, while Mizuki never broke eye contact with Naruto. Just at that moment, Naruto winked at Mizuki, angering the chuunin even more. Then Mizuki smirked. It was time for physical education, and he would get his revenge there.

_Five minutes later_

"OK, class, today we will start with kunai and shuriken practice. We'll be going in order, starting from 'A'. Aburame Shino, you're up first" said Iruka. Naruto's attention was on something else. He noticed a pink haired girl, with _**green eyes**_, staring dreamily at some kid with a red and white fan insignia on the back of his blue shirt, signifying that he was a Uchiha. _A Japanese girl with green eyes? Oh, this is too easy. Lo Pan-sama will be very happy with this one. I shall take her tonight, then I can finally destroy this place._ Naruto then noticed Mizuki glaring at him. _And I will personally torture him. _Naruto was awakened from his daydream of pulling Mizuki's teeth and fingernails out, one by one, when his name was called. "You're up, Naruto" said Iruka.

As Naruto walked up to the line, he passed by the Uchiha, who stared at him arrogantly as he walked past. When Naruto looked at the 8 targets and noticed that the Uchiha had hit the bulleyes on every one of them. "_Not bad, but not really too good either" _Naruto thoughtas he channeled wind chakra into his kunai and shuriken. Naruto then closed his eyes, to the shock of the entire classroom. "I guess he just gave up after seeing Sasuke-kun's performance" said the noisy pink haired girl while the other students snickered. Without warning, Naruto threw the projectiles with blinding speed. Even the instructors had wide eyes after seeing the results.

Naruto had cut every single shuriken and kunai that Sasuke had thrown, down the middle. All of Sasuke's shuriken and kunai fell to the ground and were replaced by Naruto's. The majority of the girl's in the classroom glared at Naruto, as did Sasuke and Mizuki. "That was incredible, Naruto!" said Iruka. "No doubt. He split Sasuke's kunai right down the middle" stated a loud Kiba, with amazement written all over his face. As Ino walked past Naruto, glaring, Naruto was bombarded by the majority of the males in the class telling him how badass it was, some even asking for tips. Naruto felt kind of awkward in this situation. No one from Konoha, outside of the Hokage, had ever praised him for anything, and been sincere about. But these students were clearly sincere, which gave Naruto conflicting feelings. On one hand, he hated the villages and everyone in it. On the other hand, some part of him was actually happy about being recognize for something other then the kyuubi.

"OK, it's time for your lunch break. Meet me here in 30 minutes. Dismissed". And with that, the students ran off to the designated eating section, outside of the Academy building. Naruto walked at a slow pace, toward a tree. After unsealing his food, which consisted of four volcano rolls and a bottle of water, and eating; Naruto started to meditate. "Hey! Your name is Naruto, right?" asked the chubby Akimichi, who was with his pineapple haired friend and the loud kid with the dog riding on top of his head."Yes" was all Naruto said, not opening his eyes. "Mind if we join you". "Well, actu-" said Naruto, before being cut off. "Of course he doesn't mind. Who wants to eat by themselves?" asked the dog boy, taking a seat next to Naruto. Naruto sighed inwardly. "I'm Kiba, of the Inuzuka clan, and this is my companion Akamaru". The other two followed suit. "Troublesome. I am Shikamaru, of the Nara clan" said the pineapple headed boy. "And I am Chouji, of the Akimichi clan" said the chubby kid.

Naruto started having the same conflicting feelings as before. He sense no hate or malice directed to him from either of the boys, meaning that they had genuinely taken in interest in him. Naruto opened his eyes. "It is nice to meet you". Despite Naruto's upbringing for the past seven years, he couldn't make himself hate those that didn't hate him. "Naruto, do you know how to play shougi? I can't find a decent opponent to play with and I was hoping the you could play with me." asked Shikamaru, in a hopeful tone. "Do you have a boa-" before Naruto could finish, Shikamaru whipped a shougi board out and started setting up the pieces.

_Five minutes later..._

"Not bad. It's been a while since I've played someone with your skill" said Shikamaru. "Likewise. It's like you think of every possible outcome prior to even touching your pieces". "This is the longest I've ever seen Shikamaru play an opponent, outside of his father" said Chouji.

_Two minutes later..._

"I win." said Naruto. The three boys' mouths were wide open. "I can't believe it. You actually beat Shikamaru!" said both Kiba and Chouji, shock written all over their face. Shikamaru smiled at Naruto. "Good game, Naruto". "Well, the only reason I won was because you let me go first, therefore I was able to set a trap accordingly. Had you gone first, you probably would've done the same thing" said Naruto, with an actual smile on his face. To be honest Naruto enjoy a good game of shougi just as much as Shikamaru.

At that moment, Naruto sensed a group of ten approaching them. Naruto felt the familiar hate-filled glared directed at him. As Naruto got to his feet, he recognized the Uchiha and immediately knew what this was about. The Uchiha walked up to Naruto, completely disregarding Naruto's personal space. Little did he know that Naruto had killed people for far less than that. Any sign of happiness that Naruto had previous to the arrival of the Uchiha was now gone. Naruto stared at the boy with cold, calculating eyes. "Kick his ass, Sasuke-kun!" shouted the girl known as Ino, which was seconded by the pink haired, green eyed girl. "Yeah, Sasuke! Kick his ass and show him who the number one rookie is!".

"Fight me, Uzumaki"said the boy who had been identified as Sasuke.(_Sorry about this line, but Sasuke is really one-dimensional, which is why almost all fanfics have this line in them at one time or another_).

Naruto ignored the Uchiha and turned his attention to the two girls. "If you truly care for your friend, you should take him away from me immediately" Naruto said, while gesturing to Sasuke with his thumb. Sasuke seethed at the jab toward him. "Sounds like your afraid, to me. I can't say that I blame you. I am of the Uchiha clan, the strongest clan in the history of Konoha" Sasuke said, arrogantly. "Why would I be afraid of you or your pathetic clan. Didn't your clan lose to the Senju clan, for supremacy of this village? Your clan is...,excuse me, _was_ far from being the strongest in Konoha. And that's why they don't exist anymore. Now, if you'll excuse me" Naruto said, in a nonchalant tone. Everyone's eyes widen at the obvious low-blow and the his uncaring voice.

Naruto turned his back to Sasuke and started to make his way back to the Academy training grounds. Sasuke stood in shock, until that shock turned to blinding anger. "YOU'RE DEAD,UZUMAKI!" shouted an infuriated Sasuke as he dashed toward Naruto, with the intent to kill him. Before Sasuke could reach Naruto, Mizuki grabbed Sasuke from out of nowhere. "LET ME GO! I'M GOING TO KILL HIM!" Sasuke screamed. "Calm down, Sasuke. If you kill him now, you will find yourself in a prison cell, or worse. Wait until the practice spars. Then, we can count it as a training accident if you 'accidently' kill him. Use your head." Mizuki whispered in Sasuke's ear, slowly calming the boy down.

_Five minutes later..._

"OK, class, now we will be sparring. We will pick the two opponents in the same order as the target practice, except the girls will fight girls and the boys will fight the boys" said Iruka. Sasuke continued to glare hatefully at Naruto, while Naruto watched the matches, fully aware of Sasuke's killing intent directed towards him.

_Thirty minutes later..._

"Sasuke and Naruto, please step into the sparring area" asked Iruka. The two walked into the sparring area and stood across from each other. No words were exchange between the two, which didn't go unnoticed by Iruka. The entire classroom watched in anticipation. The incident during the lunch break was a hot topic to the rest of the classroom, so everyone was looking forward to seeing this fight. Also, many of the students wanted to know how good Naruto really was, and how they stacked up against him. If it was anything like target practice, they were in for quite a show.

"Sasuke, are you ready?"asked Iruka, getting a head nod in return from the angry looking Uchiha. "Naruto, are you ready?" Iruka asked, getting nothing in return from a relaxed, bored looking Naruto."Begin!"

**A/N: **OK, that's the end of the first chapter. The next chapter will explain Naruto's relationship with Lo Pan and the 'three storms', Naruto's extensive training, Naruto's mission, and how it pertains to Konoha. I also would like to apologize for the stucture of the first chapter. Hopefully I'll get better with each chapter. Please let me know if you have any tips to share.


	2. The Deception

Thanks for the responses. Hopefully, I won't disappoint. I think I was able to do pretty good mixing the two stories into one with this chapter. Let me know if you like it.

**Disclaimer:**I don't own Naruto/Big Trouble in Little China nor any characters or abilities created by Masashi Kishimoto or John Carpenter.

**Date:** 06/03/10

**Summary:**At the age of 5, Uzumaki Naruto world is turn upside down with the arrival of a power that makes the Kyuubi look like a stuffed animal. What do these new arrivals desire and how does Naruto fit in? With a completely different sensei and techniques, can Naruto finally put an end to a war that transcends the ninja world, itself?

**Reviews:** Please review. Even bad reviews are welcome. It's better than nothing. But try to be gentle, it's my first time(pun intended). Enjoy!

**Big Trouble in Little Konoha**

_Chapter 2: The Deception_

"Begin!" shouted Iruka as he jumped backward to a safe distance.

Sasuke wasted no time, sprinting towards Naruto before Iruka even landed. Sasuke threw an over-hand right direct an Naruto's jaw.

To everyone's surprise, Naruto had not even attempted to move. When the punch connected with Naruto's face, Sasuke smirked, as did Muziki.

"See? Sasuke-kun's so fast, he couldn't even move! This baka isn't in Sasuke's league!" said a loud Ino, while Sakura and the rest of the fangirls agreed.

"Finish him, Sasuke-kun! Show him why he is below the great Uchiha clan!" yelled Sakura, veins popping out of her larger-than-normal forehead.

"Don't worry, I intend to. This weakling won't last two minutes." said Sasuke, his confidence shooting through the roof.

"Is this all the strength you possess?" asked Naruto, in the same emotionless tone, while turning to stare at Sasuke.

"Apparently, you a glutton for punishment. Well, allow me to accommodate." Sasuke said, with the same cocky smirk on his face, while throwing a roundhouse kick to the left side Naruto's face.

Unfortunately for Sasuke, Naruto didn't intend on giving anymore mulligans. Instead of blocking or dodging, like any other Academy student would've done, Naruto did something that only an experienced ninja would be able to do, he used Sasuke's attack against him.

In the blink of an eye, Naruto was inside of Sasuke's guard, while Sasuke right foot was still swinging towards the spot that would've been Naruto's face. Because Sasuke kicked with his right leg, he compensated by blocking his left side with his arm. Unfortunately, he never thought to block his right side.

Any veteran would've taken advantage of that, and Naruto did just that. Instead of attacking Sasuke left side, Natuto threw a sweeping knee from inside of Sasuke's roundhouse, catching him in the right side of his jaw.

"Fast..." shikamaru said.

Sasuke didn't even see it coming. Sasuke was thrown off his feet and into the dirt. "You know, Uchiha...you're not very good." Naruto mocked. Sasuke glared from the ground, clutching his jaw.

"That was just luck. It won't happen again." stated Sasuke, through clenched teeth. "Not very smart either" said Naruto, in the same mocking tone.

Sasuke heard the whispers from the other students. "This guy is good. Sasuke doesn't stand a chance. Well...better him than me." said a random student, while the majority of the boys in the class snickered, Kiba being the only one outright laughing at Sasuke's predicament.

"Looks like we have a new number rookie. HAHAHAHA!" Kiba said, in tearsfrom laughing so hard.

SHUT UP, BAKA!" Sakura said, punching Kiba hard in the face.

"Yeah, Kiba! That was just luck. No way this blonde loser could beat Sasuke-kun!" shouted Ino.

Kiba deadpanned, "You're blonde too, Ino", which earned him another punch to the face by Ino.

Sasuke was pissed. Nobody makes a fool out of a Uchiha. Grabbing a handful of dirt, Sasuke jumped up and immediately went back on the offensive. Sasuke went for right hook but, before his fist made contact, he opened his hand, releasing dirt into Naruto's eyes like a smoke bomb.

Naruto closed his closed his eyes and jumped back, avoiding the offensive attack that would've been thrown at him. Sasuke wasn't about to give Naruto a chance to recover, so he continued his assault on the blinded Naruto. As he quickly approached Naruto, he noticed two things.

The first thing that he noticed was that Naruto was not rubbing his eyes or trying to do anything to get the dirt out of his eyes. This baffled Sasuke because he knew that most people would instinctively try anything they could to remove whatever was obstructing their sight, or any of their other four senses.

The second thing he noticed was that Naruto was no longer using the basic Academy taijutsu stance. Naruto was using a stance that was totally alien to all in attendance. Even both instructors had no clue what stance he was in.

Naruto stood facing Sasuke, with both knees bent, in almost a sitting position. Both of Naruto's arms were pulled into his side, with his fist balled-up tight. Naruto looked as if he was focusing his chakra, but he was using any hand signs. No one noticed that Naruto had not been exhaling, though he was inhaling deep breaths.

As Sasuke reached Naruto, he went straight into a flying roundhouse kick, with the intent to permanently injury the blond. Naruto remained in the same spot, not bothering to move. Most, including Sasuke, thought that Naruto just couldn't sense Sasuke's presence, making him a sitting duck. Muziki had a shit-eating grin on his face. He knew that the momentum of the kick would seriously injury the blond. Justice would finally be served.

Iruka didn't think that things would get this heated. There was no way that he could make it to Naruto in time to save the boy.

As soon as Sasuke's foot made contact with Naruto's neck, he was shot off of like a bullet, landing head first into the ground. Because of the velocity from which Sasuke landed, he fell unconscious immediately.

"Unlike the Uchiha, I don't rely on just my eyes when I fight" said Naruto to the unconsious Sasuke.

"What the fuck was that!" shouted a shocked Muziki.

"Just a little trick I picked up" said Naruto, as Iruka went to check on Sasuke.

_Flash Back..._

_Naruto wakes up in a old dungeon, with his eyes and mouth taped, while tied to some sort of wheel chair. Fortunately for Naruto, this wasn't his first time being tied up. He had become somewhat of an escape artist due to his small frame and limbs, from malnutrition. After freeing himself of the chair, Naruto slowly removed the tape from his mouth and eyes, being careful not to rip off his eyebrows._

_"Where the hell am I?" Naruto whispered to himself. Naruto looked around, taking in the scenery of the room he was in. It was obvious that this place was ancient, considering that the stones that comprised the dungeon. At that moment Naruto spotted an old, rusted knive on the dirt covered floor. "This may come in handy" Naruto thought to himself, as he picked up the knife. Suddenly, Naruto heard keys against the iron door. Terrified, Naruto rushed back to his seat, loosely apply the tape around his mouth and eyes, so that he could still see and speak. Naruto then wrapped the ropes around his hand, giving the appearance that he was still tied up. Naruto leaned his head to the side, pretending to still be unconscious._

_A man walked into the room, seemingly carry a something, though Naruto wasn't able to see the man until he passed by him because his back was facing the door. As the man walked pass Naruto to sit what looked to be a body down, Naruto quietly unwrapped his ropes, removed the tape from his eyes and mouth, and pulled out the knive that he had found. As the man went through the pockets of the dead man, Naruto slowly crept behind the strangers back. When he was close enough, Naruto jumped on the man's back, fully intent on slitting the man's throat if he tried anything._

_"I don't know who you are but, if you don't let me the fuck out of here, I'm gonna slit your throat!" yelled the terrified blond. Though he was a kid, the man had no doubt that Naruto would try to make good on his threat, given his current circumstances. The man decided to subdue the boy. If his brothers heard that a child was able to sneak up on him, there would be no end of it._

_The man gave no answer. Instead, he started taking in deep breaths. What was weird was that he was not exhaling, only inhaling. Before Naruto knew what happened to him, he was shot off the back of the man and sent into his chair. Instead of the chair stopping him, the chair shot backwards and out of the dungeon. _

_Naruto shot into a hallway incredibly fast, unable to stop himself. Because the hallway was not leveled and Naruto was going downhill, Naruto picked up more momentum the further he went. Naruto was at the mercy of this wheelchair, until the inevitable happened. Naruto felt the wheelchair smash into what felt like a brick structure. Though the wheels stopped moving, Naruto's troubles were far from over._

_The chair tilted backwards, flipping Naruto out of the chair and over the back. In a split second of clarity, Naruto realized the situation that he was in. The wheelchair had slammed into a well, and Naruto was currently falling down the well. _

_Naruto closed his eyes as he splashed into the water below, sinking to the bottom of the well. Relieved that he survived without injury, Naruto opened his eyes, preparing to swim to the surface._

_When Naruto opened his eyes, he screamed at what he saw, releasing air bubbles from his mouth. Directly in front of Naruto was a rotted corpse that hung upside down. Naruto frantically tried to swim around it, but was met with hundreds of other corpses in the exactly same position. _

_Naruto noticed that the corpses' arms were tied to their waist and their feet seemed to be tied to the ceiling of the well. Running out of breath fast, Naruto swam to the surface as fast as he could._

_Breaking the surface, Naruto gasped for air. "It seems that you have found the Hell of the Upside Down Sinner, boy." another man spat from the top of the well._

_Twenty minutes later..._

_Naruto found himself tied to the same wheelchair, after being pulled out of the well by the same man that spoke from the top of the well. Naruto found it odd that this man even took the time to pull him from the well. Naruto figured that the man could've just left him there if he wanted to kill him._

_After tying Naruto back to the wheelchair, the man placed the tape back over Naruto's mouth and eyes before Naruto could protest._

_After being rolled around for another 20 minutes, Naruto realized how big the building must have been. Suddenly, the man stopped pushing the wheelchair and ripped the tape from Naruto's eyes and mouth, though he didn't remove the rope that tied Naruto to the wheelchair. _

_"Hey! Where the hell am-" Naruto started to say. "You are nowhere, boy!" yelled the man, authority laced in his voice, cutting Naruto off. With that, he left the room. Naruto got the feeling that the man didn't think much of him, but the feeling was mutual. Unlike the dungeon, the room Naruto was in now was very elegant. From the tapestry to the line of Samurai statues on both sides of him, Naruto could tell that whoever owned the property was obviously a very wealthy person._

_As Naruto took in the room, staring at the various priceless materials that comprised the room, an old man in a wheelchair rolled into the room, opposite of Naruto. Naruto took notice of the man as soon as he heard the squeaking of the old man's wheelchair._

_"Naruto-kun, it is an honor to meet you again. I must apologize for my subordinate, Rain. He can be quite tactless at times." said the old man. The old man's voice sounded just as old as he looked. _

_"Again? I don't remember ever meeting you the first time." said confused Naruto. _

_"Of course you do. What was the last thing you remember seeing before you woke up here, Naruto-kun?"_

_"I remember running from the villagers and running into that asshole that tied me up. Then I remember some tall guy, with long fingernails, and light coming out of his I blacked out"_

_"Hence, our first meeting, Naruto-kun." stated the old man._

_"I don't understand. I don't remember you being there." said an even more confused Naruto._

_"Well, I highly doubt that, seeing as how you just described me. Allow me to explain, young one. My name is Lo Pan. Centuries ago, I was a great warrior, known across the lands. I did not originate from these lands, you see. After a battle that was to decide the fate of the entire world, I was defeated in battle by the one known as the Rikudō Sennin, or Sage of the Six Paths."_

_"Never heard of him." said Naruto, still skeptical about the old man's claims._

_"Most people haven't, but I assure you that he existed. Anyway, the Rikudō Sennin placed upon me the Curse of No Flesh. Although I can be temporarily granted a decrepit body by supplication to the gods, which is what you see before you, in order to permanently break the curse and regain my human form, I must marry a Japanese woman with green eyes. Simply marrying her will please Ching Dai, the god of the East."_

_"Ching- who? I've never heard of any god by that name." said Naruto._

_"As I said, I am not from your land, so it does not surprise me that you are ignorant of my gods."_

_"I'm not ignorant!" said an offended Naruto._

_"Excuse my poor choice of words. I simply meant that you are not familiar with my beliefs or deities."_

_"Oh...Sorry." Naruto said, sheepishly._

_"But the Rikudō Sennin wasn't as merciful as Ching Dai. To satisfy the Rikudō Sennin, I must sacrifice her as well."_

_Naruto was speechless__. __"What kinda of monster would do something like that? That's even worse than death." thought Naruto._

_"Indeed it is, Naruto-kun." said Lo Pan._

_"What the-" said Naruto, with wide eyes._

_"Is it so hard to believe that I can read your mind? I'm many time older than anyone on this earth. You pick up a few things when you have lived as long as I have." stated Lo Pan, matter-of-factly._

_"Well, I do sympathize with you, but what does this have to do with me?" asked Naruto._

_"The irony behind your statement is amusing. You sympathize with me, and I, you. Being beaten and taken advantage of by your own fellow villagers, as far back as you can remember, unaware as to why."_

_"You know about that!" asked Naruto, in disbelief. _

_"Why do you think I took you away? If I didn't think it was absolutely necessary, I wouldn't have. But you probably wouldn't have lasted another year there."_

_Naruto quietly stared at the ground._

_"Also, I was hoping that you would help me." said Lo Pan._

_"Help you with what?" asked Naruto._

_"Well, before I tell you that, you need to know a little more history about myself and the Rikudō Sennin and what we fought for. You see, long ago there was a demon called the juubi. The juubi was the most powerful beast on the Earth, far more powerful than even myself."_

_"Myself and the Rikudō Sennin both sought to capture the beast, but for completely different reasons. I, myself, wanted to capture the beast and figure out a way to destroy it. You see, the juubi was considered evil incarnate. Killing the juubi would, in turn, create peace within all of the lands, at least in theory."_

_"However, the Rikudō Sennin had other plans. He wanted to harness the juubi's power, thus creating peace under an iron fist. No one would dare to challenge his authority with the power of the juubi at his disposal."_

_"And so, after my defeat at the hands of the Rikudō Sennin, I was cursed by the Rikudō Sennin after he obtained the power of the juubi. He made an example out of me, for anyone who would dare to challenge him."_

_"But an entity such as the juubi would never be defeated that easily. The juubi not only shortened the Rikudō Sennin's life span, but it was also on the verge of freeing itself from the grasp of the Rikudō Sennin. And so, before the Rikudō Sennin passed away, he split the power of the juubi up into nine separate entities, all powerful but only a fraction of the juubi's power."_

_"The juubi received it's name because it had a total of ten tails, you see. But when the Rikudō Sennin split it into nine separate entity, these entities were different from each other because of the number of tails that they possessed. These entities are now known as bijuu, and are set apart by their number on tails, the one tailed bijuu being the weakest and the nine tailed bijuu being the strongest. Are you with me so far Naruto-kun?"_

_"Yes, I think so. But what happened to these bijuu?"_

_"Ah, yes. These bijuu were scattered across the lands to ensure that the power of the juubi never appeared on this planet again."_

_"B-But that means that the evil of the juubi spread across the land as well, right!" asked Naruto._

_"Very perceptive, Naruto-kun. You are correct. Though they weren't the juubi, they were each immensely powerful and evil. They trampled villages all over the world, until one man with the power to subdue the bijuu appeared and tamed the bijuu with his chakra."_

_"At this time, the villages were at war with each other. You see, without the Rikudō Sennin around, war returned. However this man, who you probably know as the Shodaime Hokage or Senju Hashirama, used the bijuu as peace treaties between the ninja villages. With the knowledge gained from the Rikudō Sennin, these villages sought to create the ultimate weapons by sealing the bijuu into one of their own ninja, much like the Rikudō Sennin sealed the juubi into himself. By doing so, the villages would create a stalemate. With every major village holding it's own ultimate weapon, starting a war would lead to unfathomable amounts of death, even more-so than in the past."_

_"And so began the first recorded arms race between the villages. However, this was not what Senju Hashirama had intended. To make sure that Konoha did not attempt to pursue the Kyuubi in an attempt to form their own ultimate weapon, Hashirama set it free, away from the village of Konoha. However, there was another ninja with the power to control the Kyuubi and, unlike Hashirama, his intention were not as noble. His name was Uchiha Madara."_

_"Upset over losing to his lifelong rival for supremacy of the village of Konoha, he followed Hashirama and obtain the Kyuubi, attacking Hashirama directly afterwards. Though he was defeated, Madara still retained control over the Kyuubi. Madara manage to out-live his generation through the use of forbidden jutsu. Madara still held hatred towards Konoha and the Uchiha for choosing Hashirama as Shodaime Hokage of Konoha, instead of himself."_

_"Madara waited in the shadows for the perfect opportunity to strike. That time was five years ago, October 10th."_

_"Hey! That my birthday!" said Naruto._

_"Indeed, it is, Naruto-kun. You see, Madara sent the Kyuubi to destroy Konoha when the Yondaime Hokage, Minato Namikaze, let his guard down. See, the Yondaime's wife had just given birth to their first child but died shortly after giving birth to their child. And while the Yondaime grieved, Madara attacked. Though, grieving, the Yondaime fought with everything he had. Unfortunately, fighting the Kyuubi and Madara proved to be too much for the young Hokage."_

_"The Yondaime used the only other option left, he sacri-"_

_"Yeah! I remember now. He sacrificed himself to kill the Kyuubi." said Naruto._

_"Well, yes and no."_

_"Huh?" asked Naruto, confusion written all over his face._

_"Yes, he did sacrifice himself but the Kyuubi did not die. The Yondaime didn't have enough power left in him to kill the Kyuubi, so had his son to finish the job."_

_"I don't understand. I thought you said that his son had just been born." said Naruto._

_"Yes, I did, Naruto-kun. To kill the Kyuubi once and for all, the Yondaime sealed the Kyuubi into his own son, believing that his son would be strong enough to kill the Kyuubi and protect Konoha from Madara. It was his only option and he couldn't ask anyone else to sacrifice their son if he wasn't willing to do so himself. Also, he wouldn't have had as much faith in someone elses' son."_

_"I guess that makes sense." said Naruto._

_"His last request was for his son to be seen as the hero that he was. Sadly, that is not what happened. The villagers treated the boy as if he were the Kyuubi himself, torturing the boy every chance they could get."_

_"I can relate." said Naruto, in a sad tone._

_"I'm sure you can...considering that you ARE that boy." said Lo Pan._

_It took Naruto a few seconds to comprehend what this man was telling him. When it finally dawned on him, multiple expressions could be seen on his face. Shock, hurt, sadness, depression, angry, fury, and finally acceptance. Thirty minutes had gone by and Naruto hadn't spoken a word, nor had he even looked up off the floor. Lo Pan was the one to break the silence._

_"I'm sorry that I had to be the one to break the news to you, but I felt it was are reasons that you weren't told, one of which is the fact that your father managed to acquire quite a bit of enemies, especially from Iwa. The 'Yellow Flash' may have been loved and respected by Konoha for slaughtering platoons of ninja single-handedly during the Third Great Ninja War, but it's just the opposite in Iwa. He's probably the single most hated person in Iwa. If any of the other shinobi villages heard he had a son, they would strike without hesitation."_

_"That's no excuse for leaving me in the dark, with no clue of who I am or where I come from." said Naruto, sadly._

_"They may have neglected to tell you about your parents, but they couldn't have told you who you are. You're the only one that can say who you are."_

_They both sat in silence, while Naruto let this information sink in. Finally, Naruto spoke up._

_"You still haven't told me what I have to do with all of this" Naruto said._

_"Well, I'd like you to help me find the girl with green eyes."_

_"That shouldn't be that hard, why do you need me for that?" asked Naruto._

_"You'd be surprised how hard it is to find a Japanese girl with green eyes. There have been others, but Ching Dai has his own prerequisites. Besides, that is not all I require from you. I would like you to become the leader of my subordinates, when you are ready."_

_"Why me?" asked Naruto._

_"Because you have the potential to be one of the strongest ninja on this planet."_

_"Do you really think so?" asked Naruto._

_"I wouldn't say it if I didn't believe it to be true. So, do you accept?"_

_Naruto thought about Lo Pan's offer for a moment, before answering._

_"Hai, Lo Pan-sama, I accept." said Naruto, while bowing his head._

_"Great! We will begin your training immediately."_

_"No offense, but you don't look to be in the best shape to be training." Naruto said._

_"Perceptive as always, Naruto-kun. That's why you will be training with my subordinates." With that, Lo Pan put two fingers to his temple, as if concentrating on something._

_Moments later, three men appeared in front of Lo Pan on one knee, bowing. _

_"These are my subordinates, Thunder, Rain, and Lightning." Lo Pan said, gesturing to each one as he said their names. "Your first instructor will be Thunder. Once you learn all that there is to learn from Thunder, you will be trained by Rain, and then, finally, by Lightning. Your training will be harder than anything that you've ever done but it is necessary to unlock the hidden potential that I know that you have. After training with my three subordinates, I will take over and help you unlock your own gift that is lying dormant within yourself. Do you understand?"_

_"Yes, Lo Pan-sama." said Naruto._

_"Very well. Thunder, he's yours."_

_"Hai, Lo Pan-sama." Thunder said, as he stood and untied Naruto from the wheelchair. "Naruto, come with me."_

_As Naruto followed Thunder down the hall, Lo Pan dismissed Rain, leaving only Lo Pan and Lightning in the same room._

_"I assume that he agreed." said Lightning._

_"Was there any doubt. I've fooled people a lot smarter than that child in my day. It was mere child's play. Children his age are so gullible."_

_"Indeed." agreed Lightning._

_"But to ensure that he doesn't become suspicious, you are to play the part of his caring older brother. Thunder and Rain are having enough trouble just accepting him as an addition to the Three Storms. They would never be able to play that kind of role to the boy."_

_"As you command, Lo Pan-sama." said Lightning, bowing his head before vanishing into thin air._

_"My return is near. And with my return, I shall take my rightful place as the ruler of this world."_

**A/N:**Sorry for the short chapter, but it wouldn't have worked well if added the rest to this chapter. Expect the next chapter to be pretty long. It will be give a basic explanation of the three storms' power. (Sidenote: You should know that I will eventually have the Three Sannin vs the Three Storms). The next chapter is almost done, so please be patient. Also, I have a whole new respect for the story writers here, it's not a easy as it looks. Thanks for reading.


	3. The Three Storms

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto/Big Trouble in Little China nor any characters or abilities created by Masashi Kishimoto or John Carpenter.

**Date:** 06/03/10

**Summary:** At the age of 5, Uzumaki Naruto world is turn upside down with the arrival of a power that makes the Kyuubi look like a stuffed animal. What do these new arrivals desire and how does Naruto fit in? With a completely different sensei and techniques, can Naruto finally put an end to a war that transends the ninja world, itself?

**Reviews:** Please review. Even bad reviews are welcome. It's better than nothing. But try to be gentle, it's my first time(pun intended). Enjoy!

**Big Trouble in Little Konoha**

_Chapter 3: The Three Storms_

_Six months later, Naruto finds himself training, eating, and sleeping under the watchful eyes of Thunder. Naruto training consists of strength training and chakra control. Thunder rarely spoke, but when he did, he usually showed little to no emotion. Despite his ridiculously high chakra reserves, Naruto's chakra control had become quite impressive. Naruto's physical strength had also grown immensely within the last six months. Thunder had not cut Naruto any slack. If they were not eating or sleeping, they were training. Naruto had not seen Lo Pan or anyone else, other than Thunder, for these six months._

_"Thunder-sensei, when am I gonna learn something new. I've only been doing chakra control exercises, conditioning, and katas, with these weights on. And as soon as I get used to the weights, you just add more weight. When do I get to learn some techniques?" asked a frustrated Naruto, while doing his katas._

_"When you are ready, and not a moment before, now shut up and continue the katas." said Thunder, not budging an inch._

_With that, Naruto continued the katas, annoyed with the fact that he wouldn't be learning anything new that day._

_Though Thunder hadn't told Naruto, he had to admit that the boy had grasped the concepts and movements of the Shaolin style very quickly. He also noticed that Naruto's strength and chakra control had shot up drasticly, though his strength was nowhere close to where it needed to be._

_Naruto continued his training for the remainder of the day, before eating, showering, reading from the books that were given to him to study, and going to bed._

_The next day, Naruto started his daily routine of eating breakfast, washing his face, brushing his teeth, and training. However, when he arrived at his training area, he noticed that Thunder stood inside of the sparring area, as opposed to sitting in the corner of the training grounds, mediating._

_"Today, we will be beginning a new regimen, Naruto. You will be doing taijutsu training until lunch time and ninjutsu training from lunch to dinner. And before you get too excited, you will kept the weights on, and I will still be increasing the amount of weights accordingly. Any question?"_

_"Yeah, how do you expect me to do actual taijutsu training with all of this weight?" asked Naruto._

_"You have a mere 50 lbs on each limb and a 100 lb vest. That's only 300 lbs total. I have 500 lbs on each limbs, with a 1000 lb vest. Besides, you haven't earned the right to complain. My style is based on strength. Without it, you can not hope to master, or even be proficient at this style. Are there any more questions?"_

_"I guess not but-" was all Naruto was able to say before Thunder sprinted towards him, driving a knee into Naruto stomach._

_Naruto doubled over, gasping for air. "If you have time to speak, you should be using it to plan a proper strategy."_

_Before Naruto could catch his breath, he felt Thunder grabbing the back of his head, planting another knee into Naruto's face. Naruto was unconcious before he even hit the ground. Thunder did nothing to help the boy. He only stood there, watching the boy._

_Thirty minutes later..._

_Naruto started to awaken. As he opened his eyes, he was forced to turn over quickly and spin from his back, to his feet, in a break dancing type manuever. Naruto had missed his neck being stomped on by mere inches._

_"What the fuck is wrong with you! You could've killed me!" yelled Naruto._

_"How is that any different from what your enemies will attempt to do to you? This is not your villages' pathetic Academy, this is gladiator school. If you don't have what it takes...you will die here. From here on out, I suggest that you take this training seriously."_

_Naruto went into his thunder stance, glaring at his sensei. Suddenly, Naruto dashed towards his sensei, throwing a chambered punch towards his sensei with as much force as he could manage. The speed of the punch was incredibly fast for someone his age. Any chuunin would've been hard pressed to dodge a punch at that speed. Unfornately, Thunder was well above chuunin level._

_Thunder blocked the punch with his left hand, using his right hand to punch. Honestly, Thunder had various options, as far as counterattacks, but he made the most obvious of them. There was a reason that he used the most obvious forms of counterattacks. He use this method to gradually strengthen Naruto's own reactions, thus decreasing the amount of opening Naruto had in his defense until they were practically nonexistent._

_The punch connected with Naruto's jaw, sending him flying. Naruto managed to flip onto his feet before crashing into the ground. Instead of complaining, he continued to attack Thunder, with little to no progress, until lunch time._

_Naruto was physically exhausted. He had spent almost six hours being utterly beaten by Thunder and he was sure that he had suffered from a couple of broken bones, not to mention the heavy bruising all over his body. But Naruto ate his lunch anyway, because he knew that he was only halfway done with the new regimen. Also, Naruto had been looking forward to the next part of the training since he found out that Thunder was going to be his sensei._

_Naruto felt re-energized after he finished eating his lunch. What was even more surprising was the fact that he felt great, not one broken. Naruto realized that it was probably a side effect of the kyuubi. "It about damn time that fox started helping out." thought Naruto._

_"OK, Naruto, break time is over. For the remainder of the day, I will be helping you master your first jutsu. Before that, I want you to go over all of the basic hand seals required to use jutsu, though your first jutsu won't require hand seals. Now, do you remember the number of basic seals and their name?"_

_"Hai, Thunder-sensei. There are twelve basic seals. Ne(rat), Ushi(ox), Tora(tiger), U(hare), Tatsu(dragon), Mi(snake), Uma(horse), Hitsuji(ram), Saru(monkey), Tori(rooster), Inu(dog), and I(boar)." answered Naruto, while doing each hand seal._

_"It seems that you have been studying the reading material that I instructed you to read."_

_"Hai, sensei."_

_"Very well. This first jutsu I will be teaching you will require you to draw the maximum amount of chakra that your body can handle and expel it from your body, all at once."_

_"OK, I'll try" said Naruto._

_After twenty minutes of trying, Naruto had made no progress._

_"Thunder-sensei, I don't understand what I'm doing wrong."_

_"You have to visualize yourself pulling your chakra in, before expelling it. Think of it like inhaling air, as opposed to chakra. Once you've inhaled as much as you possibly can, you exhale sharply, releasing all of the collected air at once. If you use this principle, it will become much easier for you to do."_

_Naruto started to grasp the idea behind the jutsu and started practicing. Two hour later, Naruto had made dramatic progress. Naruto was able to expel chakra from his body, but only in a small breeze._

_"OK, Naruto. That's enough. You have grasped the basics of the jutsu. Now, you just need to increase your chakra control, which, in turn, will increase your chakra output. We will stop two hour early, everyday, and you will continue to work on your chakra control until it is up to par."_

_"Hai, sensei. But what will we be doing until then?" asked Naruto._

_"Well, I specialize in wind elemental jutsu, so, along with basic jutsu, you will be learning wind element based jutsu. I will now teach you the __Fuuton - Daitoppa (Great Breakthrough)." Thunder then goes on to demonstrate the jutsu. "Now, the hand-"_

_"Sensei, how come you don't use any hand?" asked Naruto._

_"Ah, so you noticed. I am able to manipulate wind naturally. Unfortunately, it is the only element that I can use, but my manipulation of wind more than makes up for it. It is the same for Rain and Lightning, hence our names and the title as the Three Storms."_

_"Wow! Will I be able to use an element without hand seals too?" asked an excited Naruto._

_"No, nor will you ever be as proficient as us in our specialized element. But you also have the advantage of using multiple elements. Now, back to the hand seals. They are U(hare), Ushi(ox), Mi(snake), and Tatsu(dragon). Every wind jutsu you will be learning will end with Tatsu(dragon), much like fire jutsu always ends with the Tora(tiger) seal or lightning jutsu end with the U(hare) seal. Now practice the combination of seals. When you are confident that you that you can do them without fail, add your chakra to them."_

_"Hai, sensei." said Naruto. Naruto went on to practice the hand seals until it seemed like second nature to him. Adding chakra, Naruto performed the jutsu but didn't get the same results as Thunder did._

_"OK, for the remainder of the day, you will work on your chakra control. Your chakra control needs to be perfect for you to utilize these jutsu to their full capacity. It can be the difference between a breeze and a hurricane. For now, I want you to focus on your leaf exercises. Once you are able to make the leaves stick to multiple parts of your body simultaneously, then we will move up to rock. From rock, we'll move up to stones, and so on and so forth. Now, get to work."_

_And so Naruto worked on his chakra control for the rest of the day. Once he finished, he ate dinner, studied his reading material, and went to bed._

_Six months later..._

_Naruto and Thunder are engaged in a brutal bout of taijutsu, one that couldn't even be defined as a spar. Naruto charged, throwing a palm strike to Thunder's face. Thunder ducked inside of Naruto, aiming a right hooking palm strike towards Naruto's stomach. Naruto used Thunder's shoulder for leverage, flipping over his back._

_Naruto realized during their first sparring session that he would never be able to match Thunder's strength, so he decided to use his agility instead of trying to overpower Thunder. _

_Not even bothering to look over his shoulder, Naruto threw a spinning backfist, aimed at Thunder's head. Thunder ducked and attempted to sweep Naruto's legs from under him. As soon as Naruto felt Thunder's feet, he twisted his body. The force of the twist, added with the leg sweep, increase Naruto's momentum, sending him spinning in the air, only to land on his feet. After landing on his feet, Naruto went through a series of hand seals before ending with the Tatsu(dragon) seal._

_"Wind Element - Wind Slicer no jutsu" Naruto yelled._

_Thunder didn't even move. Thunder used his wind manipulation to destroy the jutsu. Since Naruto had learned all the jutsu Thunder could teach him, they started implementing them into their sparrind sessions to give Naruto more experience them. Now they spent there whole day sparring, though Naruto still had his reading material to study every night._

_The two went back and forth for an hour, until Naruto finally managed to land a butterfly kick to the side of Thunder's face. To be honest, Naruto thought that Thunder was going to literally kill him, judging from the look in his eyes. And he was. It had been a long time since someone had hit him that hard, so his first instinct was to slaughter the kid. But Lo Pan would not tolerate anyone ruining his plans, even one of the Three Storms._

_After Thunder calmed down a bit, he spoke to Naruto, though he still had an annoyed look on his face. "Very good, Naruto. You've come a long way, and actually managed to get a hit in."_

_"Well, that's only because you still have a whole lot more weight than I have on. I only have 150 lbs on each limb and a 300 lbs vest. You have at least 500 lbs on each limb, with a 1000 lb vest." said Naruto_

_"Still, it is not everyday that a kid your age manages to strike me, even with the training weights. You have learned everything I have to teach you. From this day forward, I am no longer your sensei. Take the rest of the day to reflect over your training. Starting tomorrow, You will be training with Rain."_

_With a bow, Naruto and Thunder parted ways. Naruto spent the rest of the day going over his training, practicing his katas for the Shaolin style of taijutsu that Thunder beat into him, the wind jutsu that he had learned, and the even the basic jutsu that he had learned from Thunder. Naruto also thought about his new sensei._

_Naruto had a bad vibe about Rain since he first met him. At least Thunder seemed to be indifferent about Naruto. Rain seemed to despise Naruto for some reason, and Naruto would be lying if he said that he was looking forward to training with him._

_After Naruto finished, he ate dinner, read his books on the history of his multiple villages, and went to bed._

_Naruto was awakened with a bucket of ice water. "WHAT THE HELL!" screamed a disoriented Naruto._

_"Get your ass up, boy. It's time to began your training." said Rain, with an evil smile on his face._

_"But it's only three in the morning!" yelled Naruto._

_"I don't care what time it is, I said get your ass UP!" Rain said, kicking Naruto out of his bed with the last word. "Meet me at the training grounds in five minutes, boy."_

_After getting dressed, Naruto walked out to the training area to find Rain leaning against a tree, with two swords across his back and one sword in his hand, wearing the same sadistic smirk on his face. Needless to say, Naruto wanted to knock that smirk off his face. _

_"OK, boy, take this." Rain said, throwing a sword at Naruto's feet._

_"What's this for?" asked Naruto._

_"Stupid too, huh?" said Rain, as Naruto glared at him. "What do you think it's for?"_

_"But shouldn't we start training with wooden ones first?" asked Naruto._

_"Oh? The little baby's wants to play with little wooden swords first."_

_"FUCK YOU!" yelled Naruto._

_Before Naruto could even tell what was going on, he had a cut on his cheek._

_"Stings, doesn't it, boy?" said Rain, from behind Naruto._

_Before Naruto could reply, Rain plunged the sword into his shoulder. Naruto immediately passed out, upon feeling the sword exit out the back of his shoulder._

_Two hours later..._

_Naruto's eyes fluttered open, revealing the smirking Rain standing over him. "About time you woke up, boy."_

_Naruto suddenly remembered what happened and jump to his feet. "YOU BASTARD! YOU STABBED ME!"_

_"Why, yes I did. Get used to it. I will continue to stab and slice at you until your time with me is over. After hearing about your 'special' healing abilities, I've been waiting patiently for your time with me to arrive. I'll make your time with Thunder seem like a day at the beach. Prepare yourself, your torture session starts, now."_

_And with that, Naruto began his year long torture session with Rain. True to his word, Rain stabbed and sliced Naruto daily, during their sparring sessions. Rain only used one of his swords during their spars, but that meant nothing for Naruto. Rain avoided cutting off limbs and hitting vital organs, but that was the only break that Rain gave to Naruto. Rain taunted and demeaned the young boy during their "sparring" sessions, almost reminiscent of the way the villagers of Konoha treated him. During the jutsu portion of the regimen, Rain fired water based jutsu at Naruto instead of just showing him how to do them. Though Rain had just intended on this training to be torture, Naruto ended up improving at a much faster pace than he did when training with Thunder. With finally being able to inflict damage on Rain as his motivation, Naruto soaked up every move Rain made like a sponge. Eventually, Naruto was able to immulate Rain's movements and jutsu, proving that he was much better at learning when he had the proper motivation. Every night after eating dinner, instead of reading, Naruto went back to the training grounds to practice his kenjutsu. Because of the extra training, Naruto was able to use modify Rain's style to suit his own. Naruto even manage master the Dance of the Crescent Moon, a move that not even Rain could do. Naruto planned on using it as his trump card when he thought that he could successfully defeat Rain. Until that time, Naruto thought it wise not to show any of the progress that he made during his extra training sessions, at least until he knew that he could defeat Rain. And so, Naruto went to sleep and mentally prepared himself for the next day, the day that he would exact his revenge for the months of torture. Needless to say, he slept like a baby._

_Rain poured the bucket of ice water on 'Naruto' and waited for Naruto's reaction. Rain noticed that Naruto didn't budge. "Maybe I should start using boiling water." Rain said, ripping the blanket off of 'Naruto'. _

_"What the hell!" Rain said. In the place of Naruto was a figure made out of pillows, with a note reading 'You're late' on its face. "Little arrogant punk. I'll just beat him twice as hard today" said a peeved Rain, as he made his way to the training grounds._

_As he arrived, he noticed Naruto leaning on the same tree that he leaned on during the first day of training. _

_"What are you doing up so early, boy?" asked Rain_

_"Stupid too, huh? said Naruto. "What do you think I'm up for?" Naruto asked walking over to Rain._

_Naruto stood in front of Rain, with emotionless eyes. He was looking forward to this day since the training began._

_"You seem extra sprited today, boy."_

_Naruto gave no reply, which royally pissed Rain off._

_Without warning, Rain went on the offensive. Their blades clashed, sending sparks into the morning air. To Rain's surprise, Naruto was able to keep up with him, even counterattacking. "It seems like you were holding back before. It still doesn't make a difference, boy. You'll need 20 more years before you could even be half as good as me."_

_"You know, if you have time to speak, you should be using it to plan a proper strategy." said Naruto in a serious tone._

_"THE DAY I TAKE LESSONS FROM A LITTLE SHIT LIKE YOU IS-"_

_"Water Release: Great Waterfall no Jutsu" Naruto yelled, sending a huge waterfall towards Rain._

_Rain was cut off, completely caught off guard, as the kage bushin sent the waterfall toward him. Rain turned, facing the waterfall, and manipulated the water, sending it over him and directly at Naruto._

_"Good, but not good enough, boy."_

_When the water cleared, Naruto was gone._

_"What a dumbass. Using that jutsu agai-"_

_Rain was cut off again, when he felt the presence of Naruto closing in from behind. Rain dove to the side, avoiding a slash the would've easily taken his head off._

_"Who's the dumbass now? You just attacked the kage bushin. I was the one that used the water jutsu."_

_Rain was furious at this. "Enough of this bullshit! Your dead!"_

_Both Rain and Naruto charged at each other. Just as Rain was about to attacked, Naruto split into three, each attacking from a different angles. Each Naruto moved so fast that there were after-images, giving the appearance of more than three clones._

_As the three attacked simultaneously, the original Naruto was able to slash Rain's cheek with a horizontal slash, giving him a light cut on the cheek as he passed by. Rain touched his cheek and felt the blood running down it. Though Rain seemed to have calmed down, it was quite the opposite. _

_"Stings, doesn't it?" Naruto taunted._

_Rain unsheathed his second swords and went into a stance that Naruto was completely unfamiliar with._

_"Looks like Lo Pan-sama will have to find a new replacement for you, boy." Rain said, in a frighteningly calm voice._

_Just as Rain was about to attack, someone appeared and grabbed his wrist._

_"What do you think you're doing?" asked Lightning._

_"I was just planning on showing the boy some manners." said Rain._

_"Well, since his training with you is officially over, that will not be necessary." said Lightning._

_Rain didn't seem to be paying attention, staring at Naruto with bloodlust in his eyes._

_"Rain! I said you are dismissed! If you attempt to attack, I will kill you without remorse. Do you understand me!"_

_Rain seemed to come to his senses after being threatened by Lightning._

_"Hai." Rain said. After taking one last long look at Naruto, Rain vanished from the training area._

_"Sorry about that, Naruto-kun. He can be a bit of an ass sometimes." said Lightning._

_"I really wish that you wouldn't have done that. He's been torturing me for a entire year, and all I get is a scratch on his face." said Naruto._

_"If I wouldn't have interfered, he would have killed you. While you have improved at an astounding rate, you have a long way to go before you'll be able to beat him."_

_"Apparently, you didn't watch the sparring session that we just had." said Naruto._

_"Oh, but I did. Actually, I've been monitoring your progress during your solitary training as well. However, Rain is one of the best swordsman you'll ever meet. He is overwhelmingly good with two swords. And because he doesn't need to use hand seals to manipulate water, he can become a number of times more deadly. Also, Rain clearly has the advantage in terms of experience. As far as his water manipulation, not even your Hokages could match his talent in that area. He's easily on the level of the Legendary Sannin, as are Thunder and myself."_

_"Well, I'll get my revenge eventually." said Naruto._

_"So serious, Naruto-kun. Lighten up, he's no longer your sensei. Starting tomorrow, you will be my new student. But, until then, why don't we spend the rest of the day getting to know each other?"_

_"...why?" asked a skeptical Naruto._

_"Why not? Relax, little bro. All work and no play makes Naruto-kun a dull boy. I guess Thunder and Rain did a number on you, for you to be so defensive."_

_"Well, Thunder-sensei was seemed more neutral than anything else. But Rain is a sadistic asshole." said Naruto._

_"Well, our training will be tough but I think we'll still have fun. Now, how about we go get some breakfast? Unfortunately, all I can make is ramen."_

_"What's ramen?" asked Naruto._

_"WHAT! You don't know what ramen is!" _

_"Afraid not." answered Naruto, nonchalantly._

_"Come with me, now!"_

_They both left the training area and Lightning brought Naruto into the kitchen. Both, Naruto and Lightning, conversed as Lightning made the noodles from scratch. After makking the noodle and cooking the pork, Lightning added the pork to the noodle and broth mixture, pouring up two bowls. "Here you go, Naruto-kun, try this."_

_There was a moment of silence before Naruto decided to give it a try. After taking the first bite, Naruto's eyes went wide. "This is INCREDIBLE!" yelled Naruto._

_"That, my friend, is pork ramen. There are many different kinds of ramen, all of them just as good, if not better."_

_"I want to try them all!" said an excited Naruto._

_"It's nice to have a fellow ramen lover around here. Rain and Lightning detest ramen, and Lo Pan-sama doesn't eat."_

_"Who could hate this!"_

_"I ask myself the same thing every time I eat it. Anyway, Naruto-kun, I wanted to ask you a question."_

_"Go ahead." said Naruto, with noodles hanging out of his mouth._

_"Well, I wanted to know what your dreams are. What do you want to be? What do you want to accomplish in life?"_

_Naruto stopped eating and turned to look at Lightning. "To be honest, I never really thought of it."_

_"Of course you have, everyone has their own goals in life."_

_Hearing that, Naruto took a deep breath before speaking. "Well, to be honest, ever since I found out who my father was, my goal has been to surpass him in all aspects, so that one day I can be just as respected and feared as he was."_

_"So, you seek to be respected and feared?"_

_"Hai, but I also seek to one day have a family."_

_"OK, Naruto-kun, I shall help you with your dream. From this day forth, I will be your nii-san, and I wiil also train you to become stronger, so that one day you shall surpass theYondaime Hokage and all of the Hokages before him."_

_"Hai, Lightning...nii-san." Naruto said, a bit shyly. Lightning smiled at Naruto, which made Naruto smile as well._

_"Now, how about we get another bowl?"_

_And so began Naruto's training with his new sensei and big brother, Lightning. Unlike, his previous instructors, Naruto felt an actual bond growing between himself and Lightning. True to his word, Lightning had become the brother that Naruto had always wanted. Even after training, Naruto still hung around Lightning like a second shadow. Ironically, Lightning's tiger style taijutsu and lightning jutsu were the hardest for Naruto to grasp, in comparison to Rain and Thunder's teachings. Slowly, but surely, Naruto began to understand how much more complex Lightning's style and jutsu were. He also learned how much more powerful Lightning was than his previous instructors, which was also ironic, considering that he seemed to be the more gentle of the Three Storms. Besides training Naruto, Lightning also gave Naruto tips on how to become stronger, even revealing why he was the strongest of the Three Storms. Apparently, Thunder had sacrificed his speed for immeasurable strength. Rain did the opposite, sacrificing strength for blinding speed. However, Lightning did neither. Lightning concentrated on his style and jutsu, while giving an equal amount of effort to increase his speed and strength. Naruto decided that he would do the same, in hopes of one day surpassing his father and brother. Two years after the beginning of his training with Lightning..._

_"Alright, little bro, this is the last test. You ready?"_

_"Of course!" said an excited Naruto._

_"Then, show me whatcha got!"_

_Naruto and Lightning vanished, clashing within a fraction of a second in the middle of the sparring grounds. The sounds of combat rang throughout the training grounds. From the shadows, Rain and Thunder conversed about the sparring session taking place._

_"He seems to have taken to Lightning's style just as well as he has both our styles, though it seems that he has come as far as he can using our styles. He will need to develop his own style if he wishes to progress any further" said Thunder._

_"That little punk doesn't deserve the title of a 'storm'. Lo Pan-sama should've left that little weakling where he found him" said Rain._

_"Maybe, but I trust Lo Pan-sama's judgement. If he sees something special in Naruto, maybe there is something special about him. Or maybe there isn't" said Thunder._

_"You know, Thunder, your indifference is really starting to piss me off! Is there anything that you aren't completely indecisive about!" said an annoyed Rain._

_"...I can't really say." said Thunder, as emotionless as ever._

_"Goddammit, Thunder!" said a more than annoyed Rain._

_As Rain continued to rant, Naruto and Lightning continued their sparring session. _

_"He has to have some kind of weakness. Think, Naruto" thought Naruto, while avoiding lightning bolts from Lightning._

_Just because Naruto and Lightning got along did not mean that Lightning pulled any punches. Lightning was easily the hardest to defeat in a spar. It was going to take everything Naruto had to actual defeat Lightning._

_"That's it!" Naruto said out loud._

_"Shit! Whenever he says that, it normally spells trouble in one way or another." thought Lightning._

_Naruto sprinted to the trees, using them as cover from Lightning's jutsu. Just as Lightning was about to turn the tree into splinters, three Naruto's emerged from the trees._

_"Kage bushin, huh? That won't work on me, little bro."_

_Suddenly, two of the clones ran behind Lightning and attacked, the last one staying behind. Before Lightning was able to disperse the clones, the Naruto that stayed in front of him went into some hand seals, ending in Tatsu(dragon)._

_"Wind Element: Great Breakthrough no jutsu" Naruto mentally shouted._

_Lightning was forced off balance, giving the clones a chance to reach Lightning. However, Lightning quickly gained his footing and was prepared to counterattack._

_"Nice one, but you'll have to do better than that." said Lightning, as he buried his a a claw strike directly into the chest of both clones. Lightning eyes widened when the clones grabbed pulled Lightning towards them even further, smirking before dispersing._

_What happened next was a complete surprise to all parties witnessing the spar. One of the clones dispersed into water, the other into lightning. Now, though Lightning is able to manipulate lightning based jutsu, he would also need the ability to manipulate water to come out of this completely unscathed._

_Although no serious damage was taken, Lightning had to admit that it did sting a bit. "Good one, little bro. I would have never thought that you would use three separate elements simultaneously. And to actually manage to hit me with two hundred lb weights on your limbs and 400 on your vest. You never cease to amaze me." _

_"Thanks, nii-san" said Naruto._

_"Well, I guess we'll have a special feast of ramen to celebrate your completion of the training."_

_"Yatta!" yelled Naruto._

_An hour later..._

_"Hey, little bro, there's one last thing that I need to tell you."_

_"What is it, nii-san?" asked a curious Naruto, nooddles hanging from his mouth._

_"Well, it's about your fighting style."_

_"What about it?"_

_"Well, the truth is that you have come as far as you possibly can with Thunder's Shaolin style and my Tiger Style. Even your kenjutsu is as good as it's gonna get under our tutelage."_

_"What are you talking about, nii-san? I thought that you said that I did pretty good." said Naruto._

_"Indeed, you have. However, you need your own separate style, one that compliments your personality and strengths. Let me explain it so that you can understand exactly what I mean. Let's say that I gave you one of my older shirts and you wore it. It will never fit you like a shirt that has been made specifically for you. Did you understand what I mean, Naruto-nii-san?"_

_"Hai. But why did you train me if your style if you knew I wouldn't be able to master it?" asked Naruto, a bit disappointed._

_"That's easy. We trained you in our styles because it will help you master your own in the future. Make no mistake, what you have learned will be implemented into your own style, making you even stronger. You will understand when the time comes."_

_"Well, I'm glad I got to train with you anyway." said Naruto._

_"Me too, little bro. However, you start your training with Lo Pan-sama tomorrow. Make sure you pay attention because Lo Pan-sama is far more powerful than us in, both, strength and knowledge. This is where your true training begins."_

_"Will I still get to see you, nii-san?" said a teary-eyed Naruto._

_"Tell ya what, I'll come by once a week to check up on you while your training with Lo Pan-sama. How's that sound?"_

_"Great!"_

_"OK. You should get you some rest today. Your new training will be unlike anything you've ever had to do and you'll need the rest."_

_"Hai"._

**A/N: **And that's the end of this chapter. I will pick up at the conclusion of the spar with Sasuke next chapter. Also, Egg Shen will be formally introduced next chapter.


	4. The Truth

kanakmp - No, Raiden was actually based off of Lightning, from BTLC.

If anyone hasn't watched this movie, I highly recommend it. I wouldn't suggest a movie if I didn't think that it was great. I can even give you a link to watch it without downloading it, if you PM me requesting it. Anyway, thanks for reading.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto/Big Trouble in Little China nor any characters or abilities created by Masashi Kishimoto or John Carpenter.

**Date:** 06/15/10

**Summary:** At the age of 5, Uzumaki Naruto world is turn upside down with the arrival of a power that makes the Kyuubi look like a stuffed animal. What do these new arrivals desire and how does Naruto fit in? With a completely different sensei and techniques, can Naruto finally put an end to a war that transends the ninja world, itself?

**Reviews:** Please review. Even bad reviews are welcome. It's better than nothing. But try to be gentle, it's my first time(pun intended). Enjoy!

**Big Trouble in Little Konoha**

_Chapter 4: The Truth_

"He seems to be fine. He might have a serious headache from the concussion, but he just needs some rest." said Iruka, after checking Sasuke's injuries.

Needless to say, Mizuki was not the happiest person in Konoha at the moment. He was sure that Sasuke would put the demon in a hospital bed, at the very least. But there he stood, seemingly unharmed.

"Heh, the number one rookie." Naruto said, mockingly.

This infuriated Sasuke's fangirls. "You will never be as good as Sasuke-kun! You just cheated! Sasuke would never lose to trash like you!" shouted an angry Ino.

"Seriously! And look at those goofy looking whisker marks on his face! His looks more like a house pet than a ninja." added Sakura.

"The irony of two weaklings telling me what a ninja is. How laughable. You two ugly bitches will be dead by the time you reach 15." said Naruto, nonchalantly.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY! yelled Sakura and Ino, simultaneously.

"I will not repeat myself to a ninja of your caliber. You may strike fear within your other classmates, but the only emotions that you strike in me are humor and pity."

As Naruto turned to walk back to his original spot outside of the sparring area, he heard Iruka and Mizuki restraining Ino and Sakura.

"I'M GONNA SLIT THAT LOSER'S THROAT!" yelled Ino.

"MY MOTHER WAS RIGHT! HE IS A MONSTER! SOMEONE SHOULD HAVE KILLED HIM LONG AGO! yelled Sakura.

Hearing this, Naruto stopped in his tracks, turned around, and walked up to Sakura and Ino. Naruto was staring daggers at both of the girls. Iruka had a bad feeling about all of this.

"Sakura, if what your whore of a mother said was true, do you think it wise to anger such a monster?"

This caught her off guard. Before she could speak, Naruto spoke up again.

"Be happy that your senseis care about you two. If they wouldn't have stopped you, the two of you would've died today."

"Hey, brat! You can't threaten a fellow Konoha citizen! That is punishable by death!" said Mizuki, hoping to capitalize on the situation.

"Indeed it is, Mizuki." said Naruto. It did not go unnoticed that Naruto did not call him 'sensei'. " I suggest that you speak to your students. Both threathen and attacked me. I am well within my rights to kill them right now." said Naruto.

"My father would never let a monster like you kill me! He would have you crucified!" shouted Ino.

"And my mother and father are Konoha's civilian council representatives! They could have to put to death for threatening me!" shouted Sakura.

"I couldn't possibly care less about your weak parents. That's one of the advantages of being an orphan, you learn to handle your own problems instead of running to 'momma' and 'daddy'."

"That's it! I'm telling my parents about this! You'll be sorry that ever met me!" yelled Sakura.

"It's too late for that. Also, remember to tell your mother that I called her a whore, as well."

"That's enough out of all of you! If you continue to argue, I will see to it that all three of you are sent back a year. Naruto, you should know better than to speak about your fellow citizen in that manner. And the same goes for you two, as well."

"I apologize, Iruka-sensei. It will not happen again." Naruto said. Truth be told, Iruka had been the only instructor at the Academy that he could respect. He felt no animosity coming from Iruka at all, though he was sure that Iruka knew that the Kyuubi resided within him.

For the remainder of the day, the class, excluding a hospitalized Sasuke, went over the bushin and henge jutsu. It was laughable to Naruto, considering that he knew three completely different bushin at the age of 10.

"That's it for today, class. Make sure that you practice the jutsu that we went over today. I will expect to see some progress from each and every one of you tomorrow. Naruto, I would like you to stay a little longer."

Naruto felt the glares directed toward him from Sakura and Ino, as they walked pass Naruto.

"This isn't over yet, gutter trash. Wait until I talk to my parents." said Sakura.

"That's one finger." said Naruto.

"What the hell are you talking about, you loser." said Sakura.

"You'll find out soon enough." said a smiling Naruto.

"You won't be smiling for long once I speak with my parents about this, you dirty little orphan."

With that, Sakura walked out of the room, followed by a glaring Ino. "That's two fingers." said Naruto.

"Naruto, I wanted you to stay because I wanted to talk to you about the importance of comrades. True, the Academy is meant to prepare you, both physically and mentally, for a career as a shinobi of Konoha. However, that is not our only purpose. You are also supposed to learn about the importance of your comrades. You can't do everything on your own, Naruto. In the future, you will come to rely on your comrades just as much as they will rely on you."

"That may be so, Iruka-sensei, but what's the point of trying to earn the respect of people that don't deserve to be respected? Think about what happened today. Would you say that I caused that altercation? I merely scored higher than Sasuke, and it went downhill from there. Is it me that needs the lesson, or is it some of the other students here? I have no problem showing respect when it is deserved, but I refuse to do so if it isn't warranted. I do not scratch my head unless it itches and I do not laugh unless something is funny. I will not bend to the will of someone else to make them happy. We both know that not everyone is worthy of respect."

"Well, at least try to neutral to the ones that you don't respect. Just because you don't respect someone doesn't mean that you should tell them about your disdain for them. I know that they may have started it, but you seem to be the more mature type of person. You shouldn't be arguing with those two, especially since there words hold no weight. Just continue to do well and ignore those that would condemn your accomplishments. You can't control the opinions of another through force, you can only do that by setting examples. There were a number of students that were inspired by your performance today. Don't ruin that by getting into some verbal spat with those girls. Do you understand what I'm telling you, Naruto?"

"Hai, sensei. I do understand. And thank you for speaking with me."

"Hey, that's what a sensei is for. Now, let's go get something to eat. Do you like ramen?"

Suddenly, Naruto dropped his emotionless expression and replace it with one of pure happiness. "Yatta!" yelled Naruto.

Iruka sweat-dropped. "Wow, just the mention of ramen and he changed his whole demeanor. I'll have to remember that." thought Iruka.

Thirty minutes later, Naruto was finishing off his fifth bowl of ramen. Just when Iruka was about to ask how he managed to eat that much and still have room for more, he was interrupted by an Anbu nin, wearing am owl mask.

"Hokage-sama wishes to speak with you two immediately" said the Anbu.

"Yeah, I figured as much." said Iruka.

Ten minutes later, Iruka and Naruto walked into the Hokage's office. They immediately noticed the four other adults in the room, Sakura and Ino's parents no doubt. They also felt the tension in the air. It was obvious that there had just been an argument.

"Hokage-sama, you wished to see us?" asked Iruka.

"Yes, Iruka. Aparrently, there has been some type of altercation between three of your students today. Please, enlighten me. Also, I would like to know why Naruto is even in your classroom. If I'm not mistaken, he is supposed to be a first year student."

"Ah, yes Hokage-sama. I was planning on meeting with you later on today to fill you in on the details. To answer your last question, Naruto was sent to my class because his original instructor deemed him as too advanced for his class, and I would have to agree. Naruto is probably one of, if not, the most advanced students in my classroom."

"Very well, Iruka. Now, let's talk about this altercation between your students."

"Well, it's really not that big of a deal. Sasuke and Naruto had a sparring match, one that sent Sasuke to the hospital. Sakura and Ino felt the need to defend Sasuke's honor by demeaning Naruto. Naruto retorted, and here we are."

"From what I heard from their parents and Mizuki, young Naruto made verbally threats against the two girls' lives. Is this true, Iruka."

"Well, sort if. Yo-" Iruka was cut off as Sakura's mother stood, glaring at Naruto.

"See! He admits that this little piece of trash threatened my daughter!"

"Did she also tell you that I also called you a who-" Naruto started to say, but found his mouth covered by Iruka.

"You will sit down and be quiet. I will have no more outburst like that in my office. said the Sandaime, glaring at Sakura's mother for her negative comments toward Naruto. To speak like that to his successor's son and one of the heroes of Konoha was intolerable. "Continue, Iruka" said an angry Sandaime.

"As I was saying, the threat was in retaliation to Sakura and Ino's own verbally threats. Naruto was well within his rights to carry out his threats, considering that Sakura and Ino both attacked him without reason, while threatening to kill him."

"I see. It seems that young Naruto is not at fault here. I suggest that you talk to your children about the laws of Konoha. It sounds more like Naruto merely gave fair warning before protecting himself. And, as Iruka stated, he was well within his rights to defend himself however he saw fit, which includes killing those that wish to take his life. If that is all, you are dismissed."

"You can't be serious! This de-...boy threatens my daughter and you think I'm gonna let this go so easily!" yelled Ino father.

"That's exactly what you will do! And you will show respect while in my office, do I make myself clear!"

It was rare to see the Sandaime angry. In fact, he seemed to be one of the most peaceful men on the planet. However, when he did get angry, there was no question why he was chosen to be the Sandaime Hokage. The killing intent was immense, and it filled the room like smoke from a blazing fire. The only one the didn't seem affected by the pressure of the Sandaime's killing intent was Naruto, though even he had to admit that it was even stronger than the killing intent that he felt when training with Rain.

"Y-yes, H-hokage-sama." Ino's father stuttered. With that, the parents left the room, all glaring at Naruto as they dispersed.

"Naruto, you must carry your-" the Sandaime started, but was cut off by Iruka.

"Hokage-sama, I have already spoken with Naruto about today's events. I asked him to stay after class so we could talk about the importance of his classmates and comrade within Konoha."

"Very well. Naruto, you are dismissed as well."

"Hai, Hokage-sama." said Naruto, as he bowed and made his way out of the office.

Once the door was closed, Sarutobi lit his pipe and took a drag. "It seems that the parent's hatred toward Naruto is being passed down to their children. I fear that young Naruto will have a hard road ahead of him."

"Hai, Hokage-sama. But there is hope for him. A lot of the other students have taken a liking to Naruto. Some were even inspired by his performance today. I see great things coming from young Naruto in the future."

"Perhaps you are right, Iruka. Perhaps there is hope for young Naruto." said the Sandaime as he stood up and stared at the Hokage Monument. 'Have you passed your 'will of fire' to your son, Minato...Kushina?' Sarutobi thought to himself.

_For the remainder of the day, Naruto meditated in his room, thinking about the mission that he had to complete. As the day turned to night, Naruto dressed in black pants, a black long-sleeved shirt, black boots, and a black mask that covered his face and hair. Naruto also had his sword strapped to his back. He jump from roof-top to roof-top, in the direction of Naruto's house. Naruto had sent a clone to follow her home after she left Iruka's classroom, so he already knew where to go. He stopped at Sakura's roof-top._

Sakura felt the presence of someone as she awoke from her dream about a certain raven-haired boy. Opening her eyes, she tried to scream, but her mouth had already been gagged. She was then taken out of her bedroom thorugh the window.

Naruto ran into the darkest of the forest, with Sakura over his shoulder, undetected by Konoha nin. Once he got far enough away, he dropped the pink-haired girl on the hard ground. Instead of looking scared, Sakura was glaring at Naruto. This was obviously the wrong thing to do. Naruto decide to put some fear in the girl's heart, but couldn't figure out the best way. Then he remembered a statement he made at the end of Iruka's class.

Naruto grabbed Sakura's hand softly, taking her pinky into his other hand. With the flick of his wrist, he snapped Sakura's pinky finger. Sakura tried to scream, but the gag in her mouth forbade it. Naruto then grabbed her ring finger just as softly, as if placing an engagement ring on it. By this time, all of the defiance that Sakura previous held was gone, replaced by fear, pain, and panic. Naruto proceeded to snap her ring finger, showing no sympathy toward her. Sakura soon passed out from the pain, and Naruto picked her up and continued his mission.

Unfortunately for Naruto, this was a solo mission. None of the other 'Storms', nor Lo Pan, would meet him. Lo Pan was supposed to contact Naruto to keep tabs on his progress, but no one would have ever imagined that he would accomplish his goal so quickly.

As Naruto sprinted towards Lo Pan, he felt the presence of someone following him. No matter how fast he tried to speed up, he felt this new entity gaining on him. "Shit, did the Hokage find out?" he thought to himself. Naruto knew that he was no match for the Sandaime, but he had no other choice but to face him.

Dropping the unconcious girl to the ground, Naruto turned to face his pursuer. Naruto was surprised to see an old man, much older than even the Hokage, drop from the trees across from him.

"Can I help you, old man? Naruto said, in his emotionless tone.

"Yes, you can, young man. I was wondering if you could return that girl back to her village. said the old man, in a cheerful voice.

"That's not gonna happen."

"I see. I was really hoping that you would just agree to return her, so we could avoid a confrontation. But you young kids today are so agressive."

"Save it, old man. I don't know who you are, but I will kill you if you don't stand down."

"The name is Egg Shen, not old man, And your arrogance is amusing. I'm light years ahead of you, kid. You should know better than to underestimate your elders."

"Who said anything about underestimating you."

Just as Naruto finished his statement, a clone attacked Egg Shen from behind, completely decapitating the old man. But, to Naruto surprise, the body turned into dust, scattering in the wind.

"You are out of your league, kid." Egg Shen said, from behind Naruto.

Before Naruto could even turn around, he found himself on the ground, completely disabled.

"What the hell did you do to me!" asked a shocked Naruto.

"Oh, that? I just sent chakra to the base of your spine, cutting off your body's mobility. Don't worry, you'll be fine in a couple of hours."

"Wait! You can't take her, I need that girl to free Lo Pan-sama from his curse!"

"Why are you so loyal to one such as Lo Pan, even moreso than your own village?"

Naruto spat at the old man's feet. "Because he saved me from this village and fought against the Rikudo Sennin to destroy the Juubi. If had he won that battle, there would be peace throughout the world and my parents would still be alive! Konoha is just the result of the Rikudo Sennin's lust for power! But that will all change when Lo Pan-sama's curse is lifted. Lo pan-sama is a true hero, and so I will do whatever I can to free him from his curse!"

"Heh. Is that what he told you? You are misinformed, kid. Lo Pan is a vile and evil person. This world is a utopia compared to what Lo Pan would have done to it."

"How dare you speak that way about Lo Pan-sama! I've seen Lo Pan-sama pray to his god, Ching Dai, plenty of times! Why would someone so evil pray so much, huh! Your the evil ones!"

"Ching Dai? You fool. Ching Dai is not a god, you little simpleton. Ching Dai is a demon. The demon of the East, to be more specific. The juubi is a mere pet compared to the power of the Great Demons of the Four Corners. You mean to tell me that you didn't think to look into the so-called 'god' that he worships? It was the Rikudo Sennin that wanted peace. The juubi was a gift given to Lo Pan by Ching Dai. The Rikudo Sennin sealed the juubi into himself and used it's power to keep Lo Pan from unleashing his evil upon this earth. Had I let you complete your mission, you would've brought the destruction of this entire planet."

"And why should I believe anything you say?" Naruto said, though notas confident in his convictions as he had been earlier.

"You're still alive, aren't you? Make no mistake, I could've killed you multiple times by now, yet I haven't. An evil person would never show mercy. The only reason that he let you live is because he needed a puppet. But don't take my word for it, ask your _precious_ Lo Pan-_sama_ yourself."

Before Naruto could reply, the old man had vanished into thin air, with Sakura over his shoulder. Naruto was left in the darkness of the forest, to think about what was said. Naruto hated to admit it, but the old man made a lot of sense. Naruto had always found it weird that someone as evil as Rain had been one of Lo Pan's primary subordinates. Now that he thought about it, outside of Lightning, he didn't get a feeling of peace or happiness from any of Lo Pan's subordinates.

Besides the 'Three Storms', Lo Pan had an entire massive army, known as the **Wing Kong**, at his disposal, and none of them looked very peaceful. Quite the opposite, they looked like a pack of bloodthirsty wolves on the prowl. 'Lo Pan-sama would never deceive me...would he?' Naruto thought to himself. Finally, Naruto made up his mind, he would confront Lo Pan. Little did Naruto know that his decision would effect him for the rest of his life.

A couple of hours later, Naruto found himself sprinting at full speed towards Lo Pan's fortress. After another hour of sprinting at speeds that even a jounin would have trouble keeping pace with, he arrive at Lo Pan's residence. Upon passing the guards and entering the front doors, he briskly walked through the massive mansion, to where he knew that he would find Lo Pan.

As he entered the room, he noticed Lightning standing on Lo Pan's right-hand side, with Rain and Thunder kneeling before Lo Pan, as if awaiting orders. He also noticed that Lo Pan was not in his old, feeble form.

"Uzumaki? Well, this is a pleasant surprise. I had not expected to see you for quite some time. I assume that you have some good news for us, yes?"

Naruto looked at Lo Pan, with tears threatening to fall from his face."Is it true?" Naruto asked.

"What is it you speak of young Uzumaki?"

"Is it true that you lied to me!" Naruto yelled, tears falling to his cheeks.

"How dare you speak to Lo Pan-sama in that tone, boy! I should remove your head from your body right now!" spat Rain, moving toward his sword.

"That is enough, Rain." said Lo Pan.

"But, master-"

"I said that is enough!" Lo Pan said, with a glare directed toward Rain.

"Hai, Lo Pan-sama."

"As for you Naruto, I suggest you return to your mission until I contact you."

"No. Not until you tell me the truth."

"You seem to already know the truth, you're just seeking confirmation. In that case, just me accomodate you. Am I using you? Yes, but all ninja are used in one way or another, don't you agree?"

"And what about Ching Dai? He isn't a god, is he? More like a demon."

"You are correct Uzumaki. If we put them in terms of animals, the kyuubi that you possess would be a common house cat, and Ching Dai would be the most feriocious lion in the jungle."

"Is that why you chose me? Because of the demon I possess?"

"Heavens no. Why would I want such a weak little demon, such as the kyuub? He's only a portion of the gift that was given to me by Ching Dai."

"Then why me?"

"Because you were the perfect puppet, of course. It was due to the harsh treatment you received from your village. You were willing to follow anyone that would except you, so I decided to use that to turn you into one of my loyal subjects. You were perfect because you are _expendable_."

With the last, Naruto couldn't remain calm any longer. He shot towards Lo Pan like a bullet, with the intent to kill. Before he was even half of the way to his destination, he was intercepted by a grinning Rain.

Naruto had been caught completely off, and Rain took advantage of that. Slashing Naruto across the stomach and back. Before Naruto could even recover from Rain's attack, Thunder planted a bone shattering punch into Naruto's stomach, followed by a knee to his face. At that moment, Naruto got a glimpse of just how much they had been holding back.

Naruto smashed into the ground, creating a crater in the floor. Naruto's body was completely useless after only four attacks. He struggled to lift his body from the crater, with no success. As he laid helpless on his back, Rain walked up to him slowly, with the same smirk on his face. As he raised his sword to deliver the finishing blow, he was stopped by the voice of Lightning.

"Rain!" was the only word that left Lightning's mouth, but it was more than enough to stop Rain in his tracks.

As Rain withdrew and put his sword away, Lightning slowly walked to Naruto's side.

"Nii-san, h-help me." Naruto whispered, blood dripping from his mouth.

Lightning smiled at Naruto and Naruto smiled back at Lightning. Lightning stuck his hand out to help Naruto up. As Naruto grabbed his hand, he noticed the look in Lightning's eyes change. Naruto could see that he was glaring at him, electricity dancing in his eyes. Suddenly, Naruto felt the electricity shooting through his body. As he tried to pull away, the force of the electricity drew him closer. Naruto let out a scream of pain, as his body was being electrocuted.

After about 30 seconds of being electrocuted, his brother let go of his hand. Naruto collapsed, smoke rising from charred form. Naruto's body had become black with burns, but Lightning could still see that Naruto was breathing.

Lightning pointed his middle and index finger at Naruto's head, intent on killing the young jinchuuriki. Before he could finish the final blow, he found himself soaring through the air from a kick to the face. Lightning smashed into the wall behind Lo Pan, completely destroying it. Lo Pan, himself, didn't even flinch.

"Egg Shen, it's been a while. What brings a pathetic old fool like yourself to my residence?" Lo Pan said, looking amused at the current events taking place in his fotress.

"Isn't it obvious? I came for the kid, you vile creature." said Egg-Shen.

"...I find it amusing that you think that I would just let you take the boy." At this point, Lightning emerged from the rubble of the wall, seemingly unscathed. "Thunder. Rain. Lightning. Kill him."

All three darted towards the old man, intent on fulfilling their master's orders. As they all attacked, using their own specialty element,they created an explosion of elements and smoke.

Once the dust settled, all 'three storms' eyes went wide with the realisation that the old man had vanished. "That sneaky, old bastard. I will make sure that he is the first to die when my power is returned to me. He has been a thorn in my side for far too long." said Lo Pan.

"Lo Pan-sama, should we go after the boy and the old man?" asked Thunder.

"No. The old man is not to be underestimated, and the boy has been broken beyond repair. He is no threat to us."

"Hai, Lo Pan-sama". Thunder said.

Though the other storms didn't question Lo Pan's orders, Rain seethed at the that of letting the boy escape. As he stared at the place that the boy had been laying, he thought of how close he was to killing the boy. 'Next time we meet, no one will stop me from taking your head, boy.' he thought to himself, still staring at the ground.

_Three days later..._

Naruto's eyes shot open, as the last thing he remembered was being attack by the one that he considered a brother. As he jumped, in an attempt to block an incoming attack, he was met with an old man seating beside his bed; holding a cup of steaming hot tea.

"Hey, kid. You know, it's kinda rude to not except tea when it is presented to you." said Egg Shen.

"WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU AND HOW THE FUCK DID I-"

*SMACK*

Naruto found himself sitting back on the bed, holding his head from the pain.

"You will watch your mouth when you speak in my residence. Now, shut up and drink."

"Not until you tell me what I'm doing here, old man."

"Fine, you annoying little kid. You're here because I brought you here. After you got your ass handed to you by Lo Pan's subordinates, I had to step in and save it. Had I not arrived, you'd be dead right now. Now, drink."

Naruto took the tea but just stared at it for a while. Before Egg Shen was able to break the silence, Naruto spoke. "So, it was all a facade. Lightning-nii...Lightning never cared about me to begin with, neither did Lo Pan."

"You aren't the first to have fallen for Lo Pan's trickery. Men older and wiser than you have fallen victim to his charms. There is no creature on this planet more vile than Lo Pan."

"They were the only ones who ever cared about me. I have no one now. There is nothing more to live for."

*SMACK*

"Stop hitting me old man!"

*SMACK*

"I told you about your mouth. Now, stop bitching and moaning like a child and drink the damn tea."

Naruto glared at the old man, but drank the tea anyway. Despite an abnormal amount of steam rising from the tea, it was surprising cold. Only after Naruto downed the entire cup did he realize that the tea tasted a little funny. Suddenly, Naruto felt better than he ever had before. Though depressed not more than a minute ago, he felts surprising relaxed and confident in himself.

"Old man, what the hell was that stuff?"

"A little concoction that I put together."

"So it was some kind of special tonic?"

"Yeah."

"What's it do?"

"With it, you can see things no one else can see and do things no one else can do."

"Really." Naruto deadpanned.

"Yeah. Now get your ass up. We need to talk about something, and I need to stretch my legs."

"Where are you taking me?" asked a skeptic Naruto.

"To get something to eat. You should really try to loosen up a little, kid. If I wanted you dead, you wouldn't be here right now. Now, come on. I explain everything to you while we eat." said Egg Shen, while gesturing for Naruto to follow him.

As Naruto stepped outside, his eyes when wide. "What the hell is going on here!"

**A/N: **OK. That's it for this one. For those wondering, I will not reveal the fruits of Naruto's training with Lo Pan until later, maybe a couple of chapters later. Also, sorry for taking so long. I got caught up reading a couple of the other fanfics.


	5. The Protector

**First of all, sorry for taking so long. I work two jobs and go to school, so it get a little hard to update you guys. As an apology, I made the next chapter extra long. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto/Big Trouble in Little China nor any characters or abilities created by Masashi Kishimoto or John Carpenter.

**Date:** 07/15/10

**Summary:** At the age of 5, Uzumaki Naruto world is turn upside down with the arrival of a power that makes the Kyuubi look like a stuffed animal. What do these new arrivals desire and how does Naruto fit in? With a completely different sensei and techniques, can Naruto finally put an end to a war that transends the ninja world, itself?

**Big Trouble in Little Konoha**

_Chapter 5: The Protector_

_As Naruto stepped outside, his eyes when wide. "What the hell is going on here!"_

"What are you blabbering about now, kid?" asked Egg Shen.

"You know EXACTLY what I'm talking about! What the hell are the _Wing Kong_ doing here!"

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU SAY, YOU LITTLE BRAT! said the apparent leader of said group of shinobi.

"Kid, they are not of the _Wing Kong_. These shinobi before you are known as the _**Chang Sings**_. They are the most hated enemies of the _Wing Kong_. They were fighting the _Wing Kong_ long before you were even born. Unfortunately, they are still in mourning, due to the assassination of their leader, at the hands of the _Wing Kong_. Kid, what you just did...you couldn't have insulted them more if you tried."

"I..I'm sorry. How was I supposed to know? They kinda look alike." Naruto said, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

"That's because you haven't been looking close enough. Besides the obvious fact that the _Wing Kong_ wear red sashes and headband and the _Chang Sings_ wear yellow ones, you should be able to tell the difference simply by looking into their eyes.

True enough, Naruto instantly noticed the look in the _Chang Sings_ eyes. They held a look of honor and loyalty, something that he never saw in any _Wing Kong_ that he had ever seen.

"Let's go get something to eat before you get yourself into even more trouble than you already have." said Egg Shen.

The entire group of _Chang Sings_ just glared at Naruto's retreating form. Once Naruto was completely out of sight, the _Chang Sings_ went back to training, as if nothing had even happened.

Naruto followed Egg Shen around what could only be describe as a slum, in comparison to Lo Pan's domain. Even the restaurant, expertly named the 'Dragon of the Black Pool', seemed to be just a rundown shack.

After grabbing some seats and ordering some food, Naruto ordering the pork ramen, Egg Shen began thinking of ways to explain to Naruto the truth about Lo Pan.

"So...where should I start?" asked Egg Shen, with a bored expression.

"How about I tell you what I think I know and you fill me in from there?"

"Alright, kid, shoot."

Naruto began to tell Egg Shen about what was told to him by Lo Pan, then what Egg Shen had told him. Egg Shen then went into detail about where Lo Pan had twisted the truth to put himself in a favorable light. Even Naruto had to admit that Lo Pan was a genius of deception to create such an elaborate scheme. However, Naruto was not exactly sold on Egg Shen yet. Though he felt a completely different type of aura coming from the old man, he refused to be as gullible as he had been with Lo Pan.

"What about you, old...Egg Shen-san? I don't know anything about you. Who the hell are you?"

Egg Shen sighed. This was going to be a long conversation, indeed.

"Ok, kid. I shall tell you of my origin..."

"I was born seven years before the battle of Lo Pan and the Rikudo Sennin..." Egg Shen started, but was cut off by a skeptical Naruto.

"I thought you said that Lo Pan and the Rikudo Sennin's battle took place before Konoha was even founded. I can tell your old, but not even you couldn't be that old..."

*SMACK*

Naruto rubbed his head, while glaring at the old man.

"Now, like I was saying, I was born seven years before the battle of Lopan and the Rikudo Sennin. It was a time of constant war and death. My parents were killed a year after my birth, and I was taken in by the Rikudo Sennin. You see, my parents fought against Lopan and his army along with the Rikudo Sennin. When Lopan obtained the power of the Juubi, he used it's power to slaughter both my parents and numerous other allies of the Rikudo Sennin."

"The Rikudo Sennin, being the man that he was, took it upon himself to raise me himself, since he considered my parents to be his best friends. He raised me as one of his own, teaching me the ways of the six paths. Once I had grown old enough to seek my own path, I left the Rikudo Sennin with his wife and new born child."

"Unfortunately, the Rikudo Sennin's victory against Lopan had come at a very high cost. The Juubi is not a power that can be contained in a human vessel without sacrifice. The Rikudo Sennin's sacrifice was the shortening of his life span."

"When I heard of the Rikudo Sennin turning gravely ill during my travels, I immediately headed towards his home. Little did I know that my life would be forever changed."

_Sprinting to the front door of the Rikudo Sennin's home, a much younger Egg Shen reaches for the door knob, but the door opens before he manages to even touch the door. As the door opens, Egg Shen is greeted by the Rikudo Sennin's eldest son._

_"Well if it isn't the dirty drifter. I would have thought that you were sleeping under a bridge somewhere." said the arrogant elder brother._

_Egg Shen just ignored the elder brother and tried to walk past him, but his path was blocked once more by the elder brother._

_"Sorry, drifter, but this is a FAMILY affair. Since you are not family, you are not permitted to see Father."_

_Just as Egg Shen was starting to lose patience, the younger brother step out of the house._

_"What are you talking about, brother?" he said in a calm and collected tone. "Egg Shen-niisan is just as much of a son to Father as we are, you know this."_

_Egg Shen did not miss the glare that the elder brother sent to the younger one. The tension between the two seemed to be that of mortal enemies, but these two were brothers. There was no way that there could be that much animosity between two brothers, could there?_

_The elder brother finally broke the silence, speaking with hatred laced within his voice. "I don't care what father said, don't think that you can speak to me that way. You are far from my superior, brother." he spat, disgust clearly showing in his facial features. After spitting at Egg Shen's feet and glaring at his younger brother, he turned and stormed out of the property._

_"Well, he seems as arrogant as ever." said Egg Shen_

_Sighing at his older brother's distaste for his father's wisdom, the younger brother spoke to Egg Shen. "It is good to see you again, nii-san."_

_"It's good to see you as well. You've grown quite a bit since I last saw you two." said Egg Shen, immediately forgetting about the elder brother's remarks when confronted by the infectious smile of the younger brother._

_"Well, I'm sure I did grow since you last saw me, considering that it was ten years ago." the younger brother deadpanned. "You really should try to stop by more often, Egg Shen-niisan."_

_Scratching the back of his head, with an embarrassed smile on his face Egg Shen replied "Yeah, sorry about that. Well, at least I'm here now, right?"_

_"Yeah, and Father has been waiting for you. He didn't say he was, but I could tell. You know that Father cared about you just as much as us. He wouldn't pass on without seeing you first." said the younger brother, with a thoughtful look._

_"Well, let me go see the old bastard. I'm sure he's noticed my presence and is getting impatient. The old bastard never really did have much patience for others, if I remember correctly." Egg Shen said._

_"EGG SHEN, I HEARD THAT YOU LITTLE PRICK! GET YOUR ASS IN HERE, NOW!" shouted the Rikudo Sennin._

_"I thought he was supposed to be sick! He sounds like he did the last time I saw him!" Egg Shen said, shivering at the thought of his last meeting with surrogate father. His hair had finally grown back from the last time he pissed the Rikudo Sennin off, now he might have to start from scratch._

_The younger brother shook his head, clearly happy that he was not in Egg Shen's shoes at the moment._

_Walking through the door, Egg Shen had to dodge random objects being thrown at him by an upset Rikudo Sennin. "No patience, huh! Old bastard, huh! I'll teach you a thing or two about respect!"_

_After running out of things to throw, the Rikudo Sennin calmed down and smirk at the terrified Egg Shen. "Looks like I taught you well. Didn't even manage to hit you once. Either that, or this sickness is taking it's toll on my body."_

_"I'd say it's the latter. There's no way that I would be able to escape unscathed if you were at full strength." said Egg Shen, walking over to the old man's bed._

_"Whoa, you mean to tell me that you grew out of your little, arrogant, asshole stage! I'm impressed." said the Rikudo Sennin, with a mock suprise on his face._

_"I was never arrogant. I just acted that way in front of you to piss you off a little bit." Egg Shen countered, with an evil grin._

_"Still haven't gotten pass the little, wise, asshole stage though." said the Rikudo Sennin._

_"Hehehe." was Egg Shen's only reply._

_"Okay. Now on to some serious business. As I'm sure you know by now, I haven't got much time left. The Juubi is trying to make his move as we speak. He knows that the seal is weakening. If he succeeds...well, I don't I need to remind you of what that means." Egg Shen stared back into the Rikudo Sennin's eyes, showing that he did remember the havoc caused by the Juubi when he was a child._

_"Don't look so worried, Egg Shen. I have devised a plan to handle the Juubi. I will split his power into nine different entities and spread them across the Earth, so that the Juubi will never see the light of day."_

_At this, Egg Shen breathed a sigh of relief. However, things were never that simple when concerning power of that magnitude._

_"However, there is still the chance that Lo Pan, or some other person seeking power, will eventually seek to join these nine entities into one. Because of this, I have chosen you as the protector of this Earth. I have already chosen my youngest son as my successor of peace."_

_"Unlike his elder brother, he chooses love as a catalyst for peace instead of might, like brother. However, peace will take a long time to achieve. I'm disappointed that my eldest son was not as supportive of his brother as I would have hoped for. My wish is for my eldest son to get over his own selfishness, however I am not naive enough to believe that everything will be as I wish it to be."_

_"For that reason, I will entrust in you with my knowledge and power. There will be some trying times ahead of you, but I trust that you will be able to handle them until your own time has come. Until that time, I want you to protect this world from Lopan and his subordinates; and whoever else threatens this world." said the Rikudo Sennin._

_"B-but a transfer of power like that will surely weaken you to the point that the Juubi will surely break your seal! Your too old to be-"_

_*SMACK*_

_"You moron. I was planning on dealing with the juubi prior to giving you the remainder of my power. To tell you the truth, I wouldn't be able to survive long after the separating of the juubi anyway. However, you will live a very, very long life. Now that I've explained everything to you, I'm going to start the extraction and separation of the juubi."_

_"H-hai, Rikudo Sennin-sensei." Egg Shen said, in a respectful tone._

_With that, the Rikudo Sennin's chakra started to spike. He closed his eyes and started focusing his chakra to a single point on his body, which just happened to be where the seal was located at. _

_After an hour of concentration, the Rikudo Sennin's eyes shot open. His seal contorting and jerking under his skin, he slammed his hands together and shouted in a booming voice that threatened to blow the doors of the house off the henges, "KAI!"_

_In an explosion of light, the roof of the house exploded. Out of the roof came a thick bleam of multi-spectral light. The light shot far into the sky, stopping over 500 feet in the air. After five seconds of hovering, the light shot off in nine separate direction at high speed.(Think Dragonballs)_

_"It is done! Now, hurry! I don't have much time! Grab my hand!" shouted the Rikudo Sennin, in obvious pain._

_"Hai, sensei!" Egg Shen said, grabbing the old man's hand._

_"Brace yourself!" the Rikudo Sennin warned._

_Before Egg Shen could even reply, he felt like his entire being explode in a combination fire and ice; dark and light. It was as if he was being overtaken by a combination of two opposing forces. Though only a couple of minutes went by, it felt like an eternity to Egg Shen._

_Finally, the Rikudo Sennin broke his grip on Egg Shen and they both collapsed on the floor. The Rikudo Sennin turned his head to face Egg Shen, who was barely even conscious. "I've gifted you with my remaining power, Egg Shen. When the time comes, you'll know what to do. Until that time, make me and your parents proud. I love you...my son."_

_Egg Shen now had tears running down his face. The man that had raised him and acknowledged him as one of his own sons had just passed away before his eyes. _

_Suddenly, Egg Shen heard footsteps closing in on him. Before he could see who it was, he passed out from the strain on his body, due to the Rikudo Sennin's power._

_A day later, Egg Shen found himself in an unfamiliar home, lying in an unfamiliar bed. He jumped to his feet, but was immediately calmed by the sound of a familiar voice. "Hey, take it easily, nii-san. You've been out for an entire day."_

_"Where am I?" asked Egg Shen, holding his head due to the massive headache he had acquired by jumping up so fast, after being asleep for so long._

_"This is my house, of course. Then again, you'd know that if you visited more often." deadpanned the younger brother._

_"Yea, yea." Egg Shen said._

_Suddenly, Egg Shen had remembered what had happened prior to him falling unconscious. "Where is Sensei?" asked a serious Egg Shen._

_"He passed away around the time that you fell unconscious."_

_Egg Shen nodded in understanding._

_"But I figured that he would once you got here and he bestowed upon you the remainder of the power within himself."_

_"How'd you know?" asked a surprised Egg Shen._

_The younger brother deadpanned once more. "As I said before, Father thought of you as a son. Of course he would leave his power to you, considering that you didn't inherit his power at birth, like his other two sons. Unfortunately, you can't simply be given Father's eyes. They have to be transplanted, and the success rate is very low because it isn't everyday that you get to see someone in need of an eye transplant, and have another set of eyes to spare."_

_"However, I could try to arrange to have Father's eyes transplanted into you, if you want. I'm sure he wouldn't mind, afterall, your one of his sons as well. If not, I would have to destroy them to keep them from falling into the wrong hands." _

_"Why don't you just implant them into yourself?" asked Egg Shen._

_"Simple. Because I have already been given a gift from Father. His eyes would do nothing for me, other than make me even more powerful. That will not help in my quest for peace, it would only waste time."_

_"I agree. I, as well, am quite happy with the gifts that he has bestowed upon me. If he had wanted me to have his eyes, I think that he would have told me so."_

_"I agree."_

_With that, they both decided to destroy the body, as well as the eyes, after paying their respects to the deceased Rikudo Sennin. After that was done, they both said their goodbyes and set off to fulfill the missions given to them by the Rikudo Sennin._

"After that, I never saw them again, though I heard that the eldest brother eventually brought war upon his younger sibling, all because he was not chosen as the successor of the peace, which he thought was he was entitled to. Ironic how the search for peace can bring about war, huh?" asked Egg Shen.

"Is that why you saved me from Lo Pan?" asked Naruto, who was completed captivated by the story of Egg Shen's life.

"Yes and no." Egg Shen said, cryptically. "Don't worry about that right now. Just eat your food before it gets cold. Besides, we have more pressing matters to discuss." said Egg Shen.

After serving their food, the cook of the broken down restaurant had sat down with Naruto and Egg Shen to listen to the story as well.

"One of those matters being Konoha. It will become very troublesome for you if you continue to ditch your classes."

"Shit! They'll detain me indefinitely when they find out that I tried to kidnap that pink haired banshee in my class!"

"Don't worry about it. Some medical jutsu and a little genjutsu and she was fine."

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief.

"However, you will need to start attending your classes to keep an eye on that girl. If Lo Pan gets ahold of her, it could mean the return of a power that has not been seen since before your village was even created. I will also be overseeing your new training. If your going to be of any use to me, you'll need to be strong enough to take care of any problems that may come for the girl, or yourself for that matter."

"But I thought that you said that you wanted me to attend the academy, so as to not arouse any suspection." asked Naruto.

"Which is why you'll be sending kage bushin in your place, while you train here with me. Now about your training, we'll need to focus on four main components. The first one would be your taijutsu."

"My taijutsu is pretty good already." Naruto said.

"Oh, is it? Because I could've sworn that I kicked your ass a little while ago. And I'm not gonna mention that ass kicking you got from Lo Pan's subordinates."

Naruto clenched his jaws, grinding his teeth at the mention of Lo Pan and the 'Three Storms'.

"Besides, how can you fight them using a style that they taught you, baka?"

The cook of the restaurant was actually an ally of Egg Shen and the Chang Sings and had a pretty vast knowledge of combat, though he was far too old to apply it, so decided to add his input. "Excuse me, Egg Shen-sama, but shouldn't you just start all of his training over from scratch? If it is as you say, he would be at a disadvantage with the ninjutsu, taijutsu, and tactic he uses; at least when it comes to Lo Pan and the 'Storms'."

Not even looking up from his food, Egg Shen replied to the old cook. "No. This is the life of a shinobi. Him learning from Lo Pan is actually an advantage for him. There will always be someone more talented in a certain area, but we always look for another advantage. In this case, what he can use against them, we strengthen. What he can't use against them, we saved for later or get rid of altogether."

"Ohhhhh. I think I see what you mean. What may not work on Lo Pan and his subordinates may work on another unforeseen foe. So all we have to do is get rid of the garbage that Lo Pan filled his mind with, right?" asked the cook.

"We take what we want and leave the rest, like your salad bar." Egg Shen replied, nonchalantly. The cook snorted at the jab.

Turning to Naruto, he continued to go over the training program that he would set for Naruto. "I will be teaching you a new taijutsu form, if you could call it a 'form', to go with the forms that you already know. It will be up to you to figure out how to implement them into your own styles."

"We will also be working on your bojutsu. This will give you an advantage over your opponents, but we'll go into detail about that later on. Next will be your fuuinjutsu training. Though it is somewhat of a lost art, it can be very powerful when used correctly. It will take time and dedication, but the benefits could be very substantial for you."

"Next, we'll work on getting you a summoning contract. From there, you'll train with your summon, to learn how to fight with your summon. This could not only help you coordinate your attack with your summon, but it can also give you experience in teamwork, which will be a necessity for you in the future; whether that be with your Konoha teammates that you'll eventually be working with or with us."

"Lastly, we'll have to have work on your stealth. Your were far too easy to find when you kidnapped that girl. You have to learn how to hide any signs of your presence, from the your footprints to your chakra signature. Any sign of your presence that you leave behind can and will be tracked. Your just lucky that I returned the girl before anyone higher than a genin noticed her missing."

"As I'm sure you know by now, that Kage Bushin jutsu of yours can be pretty handy with regards to training. You will be using Kage Bushin to help you improve at a faster pace. Now, after you've finished eating, we will begin."

"Hai!" Naruto said, with determination in his eyes.

"That's the spirit, kid!"

'I have to be ready for them. Especially you..._nii-san._' Naruto thought to himself.

_Ten minutes later..._

"OK, Naruto. First, you will be going back to Konoha, which would take you about two months to reach on foot."

"Two months! How am I supposed to explain that? They'll know that I've left the village!"

"Shut up, kid. I was just getting to that. Anyway, I have a plan that will be able to get you back to your village within seconds."

"How?" Naruto asked.

"Simple. I will let you sign my summoning scroll. Then, one of my summons will be able to summon you to Konoha. I already have one in Konoha, so it will work out perfectly. You'll be there in time to make it to the remainder of your class today."

"They can do that!" asked an excited Naruto.

"Of course. Now, first you'll need to sign this contract in blood." said Egg Shen, as a giant scroll appeared on his shoulder, through a cloud of smoke.

After unrolling the scroll, Naruto noticed that Egg Shen and another name , signed prior to Egg Shen, were the only names on said scroll. Following the examples of the two, Naruto drew blood from his thumb, signed his name and put his fingerprint on the scroll. After signing it, Egg Shen rolled the scroll back up and showed Naruto the necessary handseals.

After Naruto practiced the handseals for a couple of minutes, Egg Shen told him to add chakra to it seals. Doing as Egg Shen said, Naruto added a little of his chakra to the seals. When he finished the seals, he slammed his hand to the ground. There was a puff of smoke that obstructed Naruto's sight. Once the smoke died down, Naruto stared, wide eyed, at an seven foot tall praying mantis. Naruto took a couple of steps back and prepared himself to fight the very dangerous looking praying mantis.

"Ah! Egg Shen-sama! How can I be of assistance to you?" The mantis said in a excited voice, reminiscent of a gitty teenager.

"Hello, Kamachii. (Got the name from the name for the japanese praying mantis, which is called _Kamakiri_; which means _'sickle cut'. _Learn something new everyday, huh?) How's your old man?"

"As crazy as ever. He's been training me nonstop for the last ten years. I barely get any time to myself anymore. I'm just thankful that you summoned me. Dad can get a little aggressive when we spar. I was out for a week the last time we did."

"Same old Kamachuun, huh? Anyway, I was not the one to summon you. My new apprentice, Uzumaki Naruto, summoned you. You are actually his first summon."

"Uzumaki-sama, it is a pleasure to make your aquintance. My name is Kamachii."

"Just call me Naruto. And I am equally honored to meet you, Kamachii."

"Alright! Be sure to summon me as much as you can. It will give me an excuse to get away from dad's training."

"I'll see what I can do, although Egg Shen will have me training hard as well. He even told me that I'd be training with you eventually."

"Old bastards...they never let up, do they?"

"Ok, Kamachii, that's enough small talk. I need you to summon Naruto back here two minutes after he is disappears, got it?"

"No problem. If he's signed the mantis contract, it shouldn't be a problem at all."

"Naruto, I want you to make two bushin when you get to Konoha. One to take your place and the other to update you on what's going on in Konoha. We'll have to replace them every couple of days, but it will be much easier if you have a bushin there." explained Egg Shen.

"Wait. How am I supposed to get to-" Naruto said before disappearing.

In Konoha...

"Konoha?" finished Naruto, within a cloud of smoke.

After looking around, Naruto noticed the fairly normal-sized praying mantis at his feet. "Hey, did you summon me?"

"Do you see anything other mantis' out here, kid?" said the little mantis.

"Well, thank you."

"Don't worry about it, kid."

As the mantis went back to relaxing in the grass, Naruto made two kage bushin and sent them to the academy; assigning one to fill in for him and the other to observe. As soon as the kage bushin left, Naruto vanished in another cloud of smoke.

Once the smoke cleared, a cloaked figure, wearing a blank mask stepped from behind a tree. "I should report this to Danzo-sama. No academy student should be able to do that." he said, to no one in particular, before vanishing in a whirl of leaves.

**A/N:** That's the end of this one. Again, sorry for the delay. Next chapter should be the choosing of the teams and introduction of Haku. Also, there will be the introduction of Danzo, the elders, and the council. Expect the new chapter next week.


	6. The Graduation

**Disclaimer:**I don't own Naruto/Big Trouble in Little China nor any characters or abilities created by Masashi Kishimoto or John Carpenter.

**Date:** 07/08/10

**Big Trouble in Little Konoha**

_Chapter 6: The Graduation_

"You say that he not only used a summoning jutsu, but he also knows the kage bushin?" asked the old bandaged warhawk.

"Hai, Danzo-sama. Also, his summon was unlike any that I've seen or heard of. I've never heard of praying mantis summoning contract."

"I've heard of one, but only in stories and legends. It was said that the Rikudo Sennin had a summoning contract with the mantis, but that seemed to be just a myth. I've found nothing indicating that it actual exists on this Earth, until now at least."

"What shall we do to about the kyuubi brat, Danzo-sama?"

Danzo sat, silently, for a moment, clearly thinking of the best course of action to take. "We'll have to watch him closely. The Sandaime has made it his mission to keep me as far from the kyuubi's jinchuuriki as possible. Fortunately, I have been working on plan that would allow me to keep tabs on the boy." said Danzo.

_At the Academy..._

Naruto was met with stares and glares when he entered the classroom. The first thing that he noticed was that Mizuki wasn't there, but didn't care enough to ask where he was.

"Ah. So nice of you to join us today, Naruto. I was beginning to get worried. Take your seat so we can proceed with the lecture. Also, I want you to see me after class, so I can fill you in on what you missed."

"Hai, Iruka-sensei."

As walked passed the glaring Sasuke and his fangirls, to his seat in the back of the class, Iruka continued his lecture. However, Iruka was cut off again when the door opened once more.

"What is it now?" Iruka mumbled, rubbing the temples of his head.

In walked a pale-skinned boy, around the same age as the rest of the academy students. The boy wore a skin-tight black shirt and black cargo shorts. "Sorry for the interruption, Iruka-sensei. I was told to come here and to give you this note." the boy said, handing Iruka the note.

After taking the note and reading it, Iruka turned to address the class. "It seems that we have another addition to our class. Class, this is Sai. He'll be joining our class for the remainder of the year. Sai, please find a seat, so we can continue with our lecture."

As Sai started to make his way to a seat, he heard the screech of the pink-haired banshee. "Iruka-sensei, why should he get to join our class? I've never seen him in the Academy before. It's bad enough that we got that loser, Naruto-baka, but now we get this pale imitation of Sasuke-kun too?"

"Sakura, sit down and shut up. You are a student, your opinions mean absolutely nothing when it comes to these kinds of affairs." said Iruka.

"For someone so weak, she sure does spend a lot of time worrying about the affairs of others." Naruto said, just loud enough for Sakura to hear.

"Also" Iruka continued "he has been training with his granduncle long before you even started at the Academy."

"Also, I don't appreciate being compared to a dickless little homo like the Uchiha, especially by an ugly bitch like yourself."

Naruto and Kiba both burst into laughter, while Sasuke glared at Sai. The other classmates looked in horror at their 'soon to be dead' classmate. Sakura charged at Sai, veins popping out of her abnormal sized forehead.

Right before her fist made contact with Sai's face, Sai bent over, launching Sakura over a desk.

Naruto had actually fell over laughing at the girl. Needless to say, Sakura was livid. Before Sakura could attack again, Iruka stepped in. "SAKURA! SAI! BOTH OF YOU, SIT DOWN!" Iruka said, as his head seemed to enlarge.

"Hai, Iruka-sensei." they both said in unison. Sai turned to Sakura and smiled before heading to the back of the class. Sakura glared at his back, until she finally noticed Naruto snickering in the back of the class. Sakura directed her glare at Naruto, before going back to her seat.

"Is this seat taken?" asked Sai, motioning to the seat next to Naruto.

"Not at all. Name's Naruto" said Naruto.

"Naruto, huh? You don't seem to be the best of friends with that pink haired girl either. Well...maybe I should take that back until I have some kind of confirmation."

"No, you're right. She not very fond of me either."

"Huh? No, I was talking about the 'girl' part. She's either a very pretty guy or an ugly girl, but I haven't figured out which one yet."

Throughout the lecture, Naruto and Sai conversed in the back of the class. Naruto burst into laughter a couple of times, to the annoyance of Iruka. Unfortunately, Mizuki arrived during the last part of Iruka's lecture. After the lecture was over, Iruka sent his student out for lunch.

"Hey, Naruto. Is it alright if I eat lunch with you?" asked Sai.

"Of course. I'll introduce you to the handful of people that I can actually get along with around here."

As Sai followed Naruto out of the classroom, Mizuki sneered at Naruto back as he exited.

_Flashback_

_"You sent for me Hokage-sama?" asked Mizuki, as he stood in front of the Hokage's desk._

_"Yes, Mizuki. It has come to my attention that there was an altercation between a few of your students today."_

_"Yes, Hokage-sama. Naruto, Ino, and Sakura." answered Mizuki._

_"I was informed by Iruka that young Naruto was threatened prior to giving Ino and Sakura a warning of retaliation, however their parents were under the impression that Naruto threatened their children without cause. They said that you were the one that confirmed it, which is why you are here. Mizuki, did you lie to the parents and, if so, why?"_

_"Hokage-sama, I assure you that I said no such thing. I only told them that there was an altercation. Their children filled them in on the rest."_

_"Why wouldn't you tell their parents the entire story? You know, as well as I, that they would alter the story to make themselves look like the victims."_

_"Hokage-sama, as soon as they heard that there was an altercation with Naruto, they stormed off. I wasn't able to speak with them any more than I had."_

_"I see. Very well, Mizuki. I will trust what you say, since you haven't given me any reason to doubt you. However, I will be keeping an eye on you, Mizuki. I have not forgotten about your friends being put to death for what they did to Naruto. I am also not naive enough to believe that you hold absolutely no grudge. If I hear of any attempt to sabotage or discriminate against young Naruto, I will deal with you personally, do you understand me?"_

_"H-hai, Hokage-sama."_

_"Very well. You are dismissed, Mizuki"_

_End Flashback_

Unfortunately, the Hokage's words had the opposite effect on Mizuki. Any animosity that Mizuki held for Naruto was tripled. Not only had the kyuubi brat gotten his friends killed, but now he was trying to ruin him as well. Mizuki swore his revenge, but also realized that he would need to move with more tact and finesse than he had in the past. Now that the Hokage was on to him, he really had to change his approach to the situation.

_Outside of the Academy..._

Naruto and Sai sat together and ate lunch, while talked about their likes, dislikes, hobbies, dreams, etc. Naruto had instantly taken a liking to Sai, but Naruto was no fool. He had noticed things about Sai that weren't normal for an Academy student.

The most suspicious things about Sai was his face. Sure, he smiled and talked as if he were just another normal student, but Naruto saw through it. He saw through it because it was like looking into a mirror. You may be able to change you facial features to one that looks care-free, but the eyes never lie. Naruto was just starting to get out of his emotionless demeanor, but that was because he was no longer under the control of Lo Pan. However, he could tell that Sai wasn't as fortunate and was still being manipulated. Naruto decided, then and there, that he would free Sai from the strings of the _puppet master_, no matter what.

"Hey, Naruto, I think the little Uchiha is staring at you." said Sai.

"I noticed. And I'm sure that you noticed the pink banshee staring at you. Looks like it's gonna be another long day."

Though they didn't approach Naruto and Sai, they continued to glare at the two through the remainder of the lunch period. After lunch, the kunai practice and sparring session were next. Naruto's suspicions had been confirmed when Sai scored higher than anyone else, excluding himself, during the target practice session. Needless to say, Sasuke and Sakura were fuming at Naruto and Sai's performance.

"Great job, Sai. You are indeed a promising student." praised Iruka. "We'll now be going into the sparring area."

Like the last time, the boys were in one group and the girls in another. Iruka decide to spar with Naruto, to prevent another problem between Naruto and Sasuke, but Naruto had another idea.

"Iruka-sensei, if it's alright, I'd rather spar with Sai."

"Why? Afraid to fight me, dobe? Afraid I'll prove that the last time was a fluke?" asked Sasuke.

"Not at all. But the point of sparring is to get better by learning from our mistakes. However, I can't learn anything from you because you aren't even good enough to make me break a sweat. The fight wouldn't last long enough for me to make a mistake."

"And I suppose that this Sai is stronger than me?" Sasuke spat.

"That's an understatement." Naruto replied.

Sasuke turned his attention to Sai, glaring at the newcomer. 'Hmph. There's no way that this loser could compete with a Uchiha.'

"Well, if Sai doesn't mind, then it's okay with me." said Iruka.

"Not at all. To be honest, I wasn't looking forward to sparring with anyone else." replied Sai, with a smile.

Sasuke clenched his teeth. 'How dare those losers treat me as if I'm lower than them. I am of the Uchiha clan. They aren't even worthy enough to wash my under garments. You can't run forever, Naruto. I haven't forgotten how you spoke about my clan. You will face me eventually, and I will show you no mercy, trash.'

With that, the students sparred, one at a time. Sasuke sparred with Iruka, which looked like more of a light workout for Iruka. No matter how Sasuke attacked, Iruka defended almost effortlessly. Once the timer went off, Sasuke stalked off to his original spot outside of the sparring area. Sasuke had not managed to get one hit in, and he was pissed.

"Very good, Sasuke. Sai. Naruto. Are you two ready?" asked Iruka.

"Hai." they answered in unison, taking their positions in front of each other.

"Begin." Iruka yelled.

The two instantly bolted forward, clashing in the middle of the sparring area. Naruto had to be careful not to get hit, otherwise the clone would've dispersed. Naruto threw a right jab at Sai, which Sai caught with his left. Sai quickly grabbed the right hand, freeing his left. Spinning around, with Naruto's arm still gripped tightly in his right hand, Sai threw a spinning backfist aimed at Naruto's face.

Naruto saw it coming and ducked, sweeping his leg towards Sai in an attempt to put him off balance. Sai just lifted one leg. As the sweep sailed under Sai's leg, Naruto used his momentum to flip over Sai's left arm, reversing the grip on his own right hand.

As Naruto landed, he released Sai and they both jumped apart from each other. "You're not bad, Sai." Naruto said, with an excited grin.

"I could say the same about you, Naruto."

The other student watched the brief exchange in awe. It was completely different from the other spares that had taken place that day. Even the instructors had noticed that the two looked more like chuunin than academy students. As the two academy students engaged each other once more, even Iruka wondered how he would stack up against the two students. 'And the scary part is, I think they're holding back, especially Naruto. Just how strong are these kids?' thought Iruka.

_With Egg Shen..._

After Naruto was summoned back, Egg Shen went into detail about the 'style' that he would be 'learning'. Naruto had many questions, due to the fact that the style made absolutely no sense to him.

"Okay, explain it to me again, and make it as detailed as possible." said the confused Naruto.

"You're confused because you are trying to figure out a style that doesn't exist. This is not supposed to be thought of as a style. It's not something that you learn, you either have it or you don't. It's that simple."

"So, I'm not learning a new style?" asked Naruto.

"Yes, and no. You are learning how to use your body's natural instinct and reactions to counterattack."

"So this style is only for counterattacking?"

"Yes, and no."

"What is this style and who would come up with such a confusing style?" asked an irritated Naruto.

"The name of the 'style' is called 'Jeet Kun Do' or 'Way of the Intercepting Fist'. As for the master that created it, he died long before even the Rikudo Sennin was born. He was said to have been the greatest taijutsu master that ever walked the face of this earth."

"By attacking, you have already given your opponent a opportunity to intercept and counterattack. But, it's not as simple as learning how to intercept someone's attack. Because the taijutsu of today is so set in it's ways, intercepting and counterattacking has become stiff and systematic. The reason is because you are going against your natural reactions. You have been trained to ignore you natural instincts. That is the purpose of katas, to make your body memorize the movement of a certain style, completely disregarding your body's natural movement and reaction."

"Instead of ignoring your natural movements, your goal will be to train them, to harness your natural instincts and increase your reaction time. When you master this, not only will you be able to intercept your opponent, but you will also be able to counterattack with extraordinary speed. And the best part about it is that your counterattacks will be nearly impossible to stop or counter."

"And why is that?" asked Naruto.

"Simple. Because your using your own attacks, attacks that your body tells your to use. It is not of a set form of taijutsu, therefore it is alien to your opponent. And because there is no thinking involved, it is that much faster than someone would is thinking of ways to counter. To simplify it even further, I could say that it would be like being in a foot race with someone. By you using your body natural movements to it's full capability, which means fast but precise movements, it would be like sprinting. Now, if your opponent is conforming to a style that is not completely natural to him, it would be like running backwards. Actually, it would be more accurate to say that your opponent would be doing backflips to the finish line."

"Really! I'm gonna be the best taijutsu fighter in the world!" Naruto said, with stars in his eyes.

"You're delusional, kid. As hard as it may be to believe, there are shinobi that could backflip faster than you run, metaphorically speaking of course. If this was enough to overpower any foe, we wouldn't be in the position we're in now. However, this is just a stepping stone. You will learn to integrate this into your other styles."

"But it seems kinda contradictory to do that, if I understood your explanation of 'Jeet Kun Do' correctly." said Naruto.

"Ah. So you are starting to understand the principles of 'Jeet Kun Do'. You are absolutely correct. It would be a contradiction to add 'Jeet Kun Do' to any style, however that is what 'Jeet Kun Do' was created for."

"Explain, Egg Shen-sensei."

'Sensei, huh?' thought Egg Shen. "_Jeet Kun Do_was created by a man that had already mastered various styles prior to creating the Jeet Kun Do. He thought that the styles that he ha mastered were too constricting. He also thought that the fights he had been in took too long and wasted too much energy. His initial intention was to just create a style that was more natural to him. However, the styles that he had mastered prior to the induction of Jeet Kun Do were already a part of him. There were some movements of each style that felt completely natural to him, but some did not. It was actually the basis of his whole 'style'. He wanted his whole style to feel natural, so he set about creating a 'style' of his own, however he realized that the 'style' he created had no set form. If two completely different masters of Jeet Kun Do fought, their styles would be almost completely different. Because of this, he didn't like refering to Jeet Kun Do as a 'style'."(I kinda pulled this explanation out of my ass, but I think it sounds like a pretty good concept)

"So, Jeet Kun Do is just a mixture of style?" asked Naruto.

"No, not at all. As I said, Jeet Kun Do is not a set style, you react on impulse, without thinking. However, some styles use impulsive strikes and manuveurs. The only difference is that you are thinking of what you're going to do, rather than just doing it. By thinking, you give the obvious answer, the expected answer. Unpredictability is, by far, the most useful trait of a shinobi. You to use what feels natural to you, bypassing everything else. Don't throw aside what could be useful to you, but don't keep what can be constricting and awkward to you either. In other words, Jeet Kun Do is not _a_ style, it _your_ style. The more you learn about yourself, the better you will become."

"I think I understand the concept, but it may take a while to complete something like that."

"That goes without saying, however, that's where your kage bushin will come in handy. However, we will not be using them just for your Jeet Kun Do training. You will also be using them for the rest of your training, or at least the majority of it. You will be using kage bushin for you bojutsu and your fuuinjutsu, however your stealth training will be done on your own. Now, how long can you keep your kage bushin active?"

Thinking for a while, Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "I've never had a problem keeping them active over long periods of time, so I wouldn't know. I do remember training alone once, after one of Rain's torture sessions, and falling asleep with my one of my clones. I remember being surprised when I woke up, because the clone had fallen asleep as well. Apparently, they are capable of recharging chakra the same way I am. With a little sleep, they can be back to normal the next day. The only drawback is that I don't gain the chakra it took to make them back until they are dispersed."

For once, Egg Shen had a shocked look on his face. The shocked face then turned to a devilish smirk that sent chills up Naruto's spine. "How many can you make, Naruto?"

"I-I can probably make about two thousand without too much strain on my chakra reserves, why?"

"Because that's how many you will be making. You will not be dispersing theem either, at least not until the end of your training."

"That's insane! I'll be on the brink of chakra exhaustion everyday!"

"No. You will be doing stealth training, which doesn't use much chakra. I will be splitting the rest of your clones to do fuuinjutsu, bojutsu, and taijutsu. Once you have finished your stealth training, you will be leaving to train with the mantis, however your clones will remain here. After you have finished your training, you will return here. Your clones will then disperse, giving you the knowledge that they have acquired. Since there will probably be a tremendous amount of mental stress, I'll have you disperse them one group at a time, got it?"

"Yeah, but with a year of knowledge from each bushin, I'll probably be in a coma for a week."

"Probably, but the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks, but it's up to you. Are you willing to go through with it?"

"Well...how strong do you think it will make me?"

"A lot stronger than you are at this moment, that's for sure. You don't have the luxury of a normal childhood, unfortunately. You have more enemies than you realize, and you will need to be able to protect yourself. From what I've gathered from my own sources, there is a group called Akatsuki, and they will be after you soon. I don't know their motives as of yet but it can't be anything good if they seek the kyuubi sealed within you."

"In that case...let's do it." Naruto said.

"Alright, I want you to create two thousand clones. Five hundred for taijutsu, five hundred for bojutsu, and a thousand for fuuinjutsu."

"Why so many for fuuinjutsu?" asked Naruto.

"Because fuuinjutsu are the most complicated forms of jutsu known to man, which is why it is rarely used anymore."

"What's so special about seals?"

Egg Shen deadpanned at the questioned."Well, I suppose that there's nothing special about defeating one of the most powerful beast to walk the face of this earth. I mean, it just has the power to seal some of the strongest beast known to man, one of which resides in you. Nothing special about that at all."

"Okay, okay. I get your point, but I still think that it a little excessive."

"That's probably because you don't understand fuuinjutsu in it's entirety. Understanding fuuinjutsu and using them are two completely different things. When I'm done with you, you'll be able to create your own seals, not just copy what has been done in the past."

"The best part about the fuuinjutsu and Jeet Kun Do training is that it can not be copied, even with the Sharingan."

"Why is that? From what I understand, the Sharingan can copy any jutsu or technique." asked Naruto.

"Well, as for your fuuinjutsu, it is far too complex to simply be copied. If it were that easy to copy, it would have been already. If you do not understand the theory and array of seals behind fuuinjutsu, the damage could be fatal. As for your Jeet Kun Do, it is too unpredictable. Yes, they could predict your movements to a certain degree, but the unpredictabilty of it would make it almost impossible to counter. They simply wouldn't be able to keep up with such an unpredictable style without putting themselves in a completely unbalanced and awkward position, which would create multiple openings in their defenses. It's actually the perfect counter to the Sharingan."

"Makes sense."

"Indeed. Now, let's get to work."

Over the next six months Naruto trained with Egg Shen. After the first couple of weeks, he really started to get concept of the Jeet Kun Do 'style'. Once Naruto was able to completely understand the concept, he began implementing it into his own styles. To do that, he went threw each style thoroughly, revising his style to match his natural movements. Naruto started to realize that katas were useless to Jeet Kun Do, because he wouldn't know what movement to do. To remedy this, Naruto sparred with his clones. It worked for a couple of weeks, but he eventually needed new sparring partners due to the fact that he knew how he moved. Egg Shen was able to get the Chang Sings to spar with Naruto, to help him improve.

During the first couple of spars, Naruto had to replaced over 50 clones. The Chang Sings were not holding back, which helped Naruto greatly. After the first couple of spars, each clones was able to spar on equal grounds with the members of the Chang Sings. Within a couple of months, each clone could take three Chang Sings at a time. It was then that Egg Shen replaced the Chang Sings.

Naruto wasn't surprised that Egg Shen was many times better than himself. What did surprise Naruto was the fact that Egg Shen was able to make five hundred clones just as easily as Naruto could. He thought that it should've been impossible for the old man to have so much chakra left in him. He wondered how strong the old man must've been in his prime.

Naruto could tell that Egg Shen held back to ensure that he didn't destroy the clones, but Naruto was improving at an even faster pace when he started sparring with him.

As far as his fuuinjutsu, Egg Shen was right to double the amountt of clones in that area. Even with the additional clones, it took Naruto over three months to make any sort of progression. Fuuinjutsu required more mental energy than physical. Naruto and his clones took to reading the fuuinjutsu scrolls that were given to him at the beginning of the training. Each clone read various scrolls concerning differents arrays of seals, sealing matrix, and theories. After each clone read every scroll that concerned sealing, they went into the the practical training, under the watchful eye of Egg Shen. Egg Shen gave him tips on certain seals, but Naruto seemed to be a natural as far as seals were concerned. His unpredictable thinking had helped him come up with his own theories and seals, but he had yet to finish them. One of which was an exploding kunai. Unlike normal exploding kunai, his had 50 kunai sealed within it. In theory, when the exploding tag went off, it would create shrapnel in the form of 50 deadly kunai. He even came up with an idea of sealing 50 exploding shrapnel kunai in one exploding shrapnel kunai. The devastation would be astronomical. Of course, that could only be used when fighting against overwhelming numbers.

Each clone had been working on a different type of seal, some new and some old, but none had been able to produce a working seal. Egg Shen could tell that once Naruto knew what seals were truly capable of, he would fall in love with the art of sealing. And just as he had predicted, Naruto had found a new love, one only rivaled by his love for ramen. Egg Shen thought it was ironic, considering that the Uzumaki clan were known for their mastery of seals. That was actually the reason that he had decided to teach the boy fuuinjutsu.

And then there was the stealth training. The boy stealth was terrible when he first started. Egg Shen was amazed at how he could be so advanced, yet have such awful stealth tactics. But Egg Shen had set up a 30 minute course to remedy that problem. Egg Shen's course was riddled with bells, whistles, and traps for the young blond. It took Naruto a whole month just to get through the entire course without getting caught in one of the traps. After the second month, Naruto was able to make it through the course in 15 minutes, without setting off a single trap, bell ,or whistle. Egg Shen began setting up more and more traps everyday, to keep the boy on his toes. He also made Naruto wear his weights during the stealth training. When the sixth month finally came around, Naruto was able to speed through the course like a bolt of lightning, leaving no traces of his presence.

Lastly, Naruto had been a natural in the art of bojutsu, even rivaling Egg Shen himself. Naruto was already on par with Egg Shen, but he decided to try and implement his wind chakra into his bojutsu. He was showing promise, but it would take some time for him to truly grasp the concept.

Egg Shen decided that it was time for Naruto start his training with the mantis. He called to the original doing the stealth training. "Naruto! Come here!."

"Hai, Egg Shen-sensei!"

Naruto kneeled in front of Egg Shen. "Stand up, kid. I just wanted to tell you that you will be starting your summon training today. Your stealth has improved greatly. It's time for you to train with the mantis now. I will be keeping tabs on your progress, so don't slack off, got it?"

"You just wait, you old fart. When I get back, I'll be even stronger than you!"

*SMACK*

"You have a long way to go before you reach my level, kid."

Before he was able to retort, Naruto disappeared in a puff of smoke.

_Kama Forest_...

Naruto looked around and noticed that his surroundings were not unlike that Konoha. He stood in a massive clearing of what seemed to be a forest.

'Where the hell am I?' thought Naruto.

"Hey, bro! What's up?" asked an 8 foot tall praying mantis.

"Kamachii? Is that you?"

"Who else would it be?"

"It just that you've grown so tall since I last saw you."

"Well, I've been-" Kamachii said before being cut off by a deep, thunderous voice.

"Kamachii! Where are you? It's time for your training!"

"Shit! My old man's here!"

"There you are! Huh? Who's the little, blond gaki?"

"I am Uzumaki Naruto, Egg Shen's new apprentice. I was sent to train with you, Kamachuun-sama."

"Sorry, kid. I don't have time to babysit." said the mantis known as Kamachuun.

"But, Kamacuun-sama, I was sent here to train with you."

"That may be so, but I don't think that a little punk like you could even handle it."

Naruto was starting to get annoyed but decided that a little reverse pyschology would help. "Well, maybe you're right. Maybe I should consiser getting a spider or snake contract instead. I heard that they were stronger anyway. Hell, I even heard that the grasshopper summons may be stronger. At least they can jump high." Naruto said, in his thinking pose.

In an instant, Kamachuun was in front of Naruto. He bent down to stare into Naruto's eyes and spoke in a barely restrained voice. "What did you just say?"

"I said that I heard that snake and spiders could beat a mantis."

"And after that?"

"Oh, that. I just said that someone told me that grasshoppers could be stronger than a mantis. Why do you ask?"

"Boy...you try my patience. I eat snakes and spiders for dinner. As for grasshoppers, they are not even fit to be eaten by something as noble as the mantis."

"Well, I'm sure that they would say the same things about you. How am I to know who's telling the truth?"

"Very well, gaki. I shall take you on as my student. At the end of our training, you will know why we are the most feared summons among all of the animal summons."

'Worked like a charm' Naruto thought to himself.

Naruto would later regret taking up the training of the mantis. It was unlike anything he had done before, and that was saying a lot considering that he had trained with Egg Shen, Rain, Lightning, Thunder, and Lo Pan. He immediately understood why the mantis summons were so legendary. They lived to fight. They trained trhoughout the entire day, as if they knew that war was on the horizon. Everyday was literally a fight for his life. They even simulated a war scenario once a month, separating all of the mantis into two teams, with Naruto on one side, and fighting until no one could stand anymore. There was no such thing as sparring with the mantis. There was only fighting.

Naruto learned from the mantis by fighting them. Kamachii would teach him the Praying Mantis style, but it would be applied during combat. Whenever Kamachii and Naruto were alone, they practiced their combination attacks, which were also applied during combat. They had become so good together that even the older mantis had been impressed with their cohesiveness.

_Five months later..._

Egg Shen, true to he word, kept tabs on Naruto's progress through the mantis. When he knew that Naruto's training was complete, he summoned him back. He figured that the knowledge that Naruto's clones had gained would create an enormous strain on Naruto, mentally and physically. He wanted Naruto to be able to recover from this strain before he took his genin exams. Having a clone going on missions wouldn't be much help if he ran into a powerful foe. But that wasn't the only reason that he summoned him a month earlier than he was supposed to. To be honest, he wanted to test the kid progress. He knew that Naruto still held some aces up his sleeve that even he didn't know about, but he still had to make sure the kid was strong enough to go toe to toe with some of the strongest shinobi in the world.

After saying his goodbyes, Naruto was summoned to Egg Shen's residence. Egg Shen treated Naruto to lunch and listened as Naruto told him about the fierce battle that he and Kamachii had fought. They both laughed as they talked about their experiences at Kama Forest. Once they finished eating, Egg Shen told Naruto that he would be dispelling his clones. Naruto nodded and followed Egg Shen to where the clones were currently training. Egg Shen then turned and stared at Naruto.

"Are you ready, kid?" he asked Naruto.

"As ready as I'll ever be." Naruto responded.

"Ok, I want you to dispell the bojutsu clones, then the taijutsu clones. I want you to save the fuuinjutsu clones for last because they will be the ones that cause the most strain. Unfortunately, even I don't know how bad it will effect you, but you will at least be able to see what your clones have accomplished before you pass out...at least I think."

"You know...you're not helping to build my confidence when you talk like that. For all I know, I could die dispelling all of these clones."

"Well, there's only one way to find out." Egg Shen retorted.

Steeling himself, Naruto did as Egg Shen instructed, dispelling the bojutsu bushin. The information that he gained was mind boggling. He was surprised to find out that they had indeed managed to add wind manipulation to the bojutsu style, with staggering results. Then again, with the amount of clones that he had working on it, it would've been almost impossible for anyone else to live long enough to acquire the amount of training that he was capable of in just a year.

Naruto started dispelling the taijutsu clones before all of the knowledge caught up with him. There was no going back now. Whatever the effects were, he had already gone too far to back out now. Taking in the taijutsu clones knowledge, he was very surprised with the results. Their grasp of Jeet Kun Do seemed as natural as walking to them. He now wondered how he could've possible been so stupid as to not understand such a simple concept.

Feeling the strain starting to take effect, he mustered up the strength to dispell the fuuinjutsu clones. Now, this was a completely different experience from the other two groups. Naruto had never imagined that such things were possible. Apparently, seals were only limited by the users imagination, and Naruto had that in spades.

Before Naruto could even think over all of the knowledge gained from the fuuinjutsu clones, a high pitched screech took over his senses. Naruto closed his eyes and covered his ear in pain, but the screech continued, distorting the world around him. Even Egg Shen feared for the worst. Finally, unable to take the pain, his body collapsed on the ground. Egg Shen rushed to his side. 'Maybe I shouldn't have pushed him so much, but it was necessary. My time is nearing and I need a successor. I'm sorry for putting you through this, Naruto, but I had no other choice. I have faith that you will accomplish what neither one of us could.' Egg Shen thought to himself, picking the boy up.

_Three weeks later..._

Naruto had been in a coma for three weeks. His entire body shut down, unable to deal with the stress of the information he gained all at once. Even one clone would knocked him out for at least 20 minutes, but they didn't have the time to dispell one clone at a time. Egg Shen stayed with Naruto for the entire three weeks, hoping for some sign of Naruto's awakening, but, sadly, he had no such luck as of yet.

Just as he started to doubt his decision, Naruto finally showed signs of awakening from his slumber. It started with the twitching of his fingers. Then, his body started moving again, as if he had just fallen asleep. Finally, Naruto eyes opened. He squinted as his eyes adjusted to the light. It had been painful for him to even open his eyes. He was well aware of what had happened, he even expected it. What he did not expect was the pain that ran through every fiber of his being. Though it was the clones that did the training, his brain was telling his body otherwise. Naruto groined in pain, waking Egg Shen, who was sitting next to him.

"So, you're finally awake. You had me worried for a second there." Egg Shen said.

"How long have I been out?" asked Naruto, voice just as strained as his body.

"A little over three weeks."

"I feel like my even part of my body is on fire."

"It's to be expected. To be honest, no one has ever even attempted the kind of training that you just did. If it wasn't for the kyuubi, you'd probably be dead right now."

"It's about time that furball started pulling his weight around here." Naruto joked.

"Since your awake, I assume that the kyuubi has repaired any life threatening damage that might have been done. You will probably be back on your feet in no time, now that it is able to concentrate on the more minor injuries of your mental fatigue."

"So how long do you think that I'll be in here?"

"Probably a couple more days, considering the state your in, but I think it may have been worth it."

'Says the old fart that isn't laying in the hospital bed.' Naruto thought to himself. "So, I'll be leaving for Konoha in a couple of day, then?"

"Not quite. You still have one more phase of the training."

"And what's that?"

"You'll find out soon enough. Now, rest."

_Three days later..._

Naruto stood across from Egg Shen, in a huge clearing, miles outside of Egg Shen's residence. "What are we doing out here, sensei?" Naruto asked.

"Well, I didn't want my current home destroyed or anyone casualties, so I brought us out here."

"Why would your home be destroyed, and what does that have to do with us being out here?"

"Simple. We're going to have a good, old-fashioned spar."

"I don't understand."

"You will not be holding back."

"WHAT!"

"You heard me correctly. I want to test your progress over the last year."

"B-but, I could accidentally kill you!"

"The arrogance of you kids is amazing. You have a long way to go before you can do that, kid. But since you are so convinced that I am such a feeble old man, perhaps I should give you a little motivation."

Before Naruto had even noticed that Egg Shen had disappeared, he was caught with a flying kick to the left side of his face. Naruto was sent flying across the clearing like a shooting star. Lesser ninja had died by hits with much less power. Fortunately, Naruto was far from an ordinary shinobi.

Naruto landed on his back and skidded to a stop. Shaking his head, he stood up and wiped the blood from his mouth. He then glared at the old man across from him. "You're gonna pay for that one, old man."

"Old man, huh? What happened to 'sensei'?"

Naruto gave no answer.

"Looks like you're finally ready. Come! Show me what you've learned, kid!"

Without warning, Naruto charged at the old man with speed that would catch a kage off guard. Naruto and Egg Shen traded blows, neither one landing a solid punch. Both were using their own personal Jeet Kun Do, making their styles unidentifiable to anyone other than the two. Unfortunately for Naruto, Egg Shen's was much better than Naruto's. Even with the clones experience, Egg Shen still had more considering how long he had lived and the shinobi that he had fought in the past, not to mention the knowledge he inherited from the Rikudo Sennin.

Naruto, seeing that he was still inferior to Egg Shen in taijutsu, decided to take advantage of the one thing that he knew he had the edge in. Jumping back, away from Egg Shen, he bit his thumb and went through some handseals that Egg Shen was familiar with. After finishing the handseals and slamming his hand to the ground, a large puff of smoke revealing a eight foot tall mantis appeared.

"Yo!" was the mantis' greeting.

"A summoning jutsu? You should know that won't work on me, kid. Maybe I overestimated your abilities." said Egg Shen, though he knew that Naruto wasn't done yet. He was no fool. He knew that Naruto was easily one of the most unpredictable people that he had ever met, and unpredictability could be very dangerous when underestimated.

"Kamachii, I need you to transform. The old man wants me to come at him with everything we've learned, so we can't hold back against him."

"Right." the mantis said. With another puff of smoke, Kamachii had transformed into a green staff, not unlike bamboo. Outside of the green color, one would think that Naruto had stolen some monks' staff. It was the image of perfection. It was perfectly balanced and looked, both, flexible and sturdy.

"What do we have here? Looks like you learned some new tricks while you were away." an amused Egg Shen said, while drawing his own staff.

"You'll find out soon enough, old man." was Naruto's reply.

The two slowly moved in closer, until they were in striking range. Both studied each other, looking for weaknesses in their seemingly nonexistent stance. Egg Shen decided to take the initiative, lunging at Naruto. Naruto simply spun his new staff in one hand, deflecting Egg Shen's strike. The two went at each other with reckless abandon, but it wasn't hard to see that Naruto had the advantage. 'He's underestimating me again. He isn't even adding his wind manipulation to his strike.' thought Egg Shen.

"Kid, your arrogance will be your downfall. I told you to come at me with everything you have." said Egg Shen

"No, I think that you are the one being arrogant now, sensei. You know that your no match for me with weapons, yet you haven't withdrawn."

"See, there you go again. You remind me of myself when I was your age; young and stupid."

Naruto just snorted at the jabbed.

Egg Shen decided to clarify. "You may have surpassed me in bojutsu, but you are far from being better with weapons than me. You see, your staff would technically be counted as your primary weapon, and your sword your secondary weapon. However, the staff probably wouldn't even be considered a secondary weapon for me."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked, but knew exactly what he meant.

"What I mean is that the staff is my worst and your best."

"Well, stop messing around and pull out your primary weapon."

"No need." Egg Shen said.

Egg Shen then snapped his staff across his knee. The end result was two perfectly even pieces of the staff. "Now, that's much better."

"That's it." Naruto deadpanned.

"Well, your more than welcome to attack." Egg Shen taunted.

Naruto instantly rushed the old man with intentions to pay him back for that kick to the face. 'What the hell was the old man thinking? All he managed to do was give me a reach advantage. It'll be even easier for me to hit him' Naruto thought to himself. What he wasn't expecting was for the old man to block his attack with one of the broken pieces of the staff and smack him across the back of the head with the other. After recovering, Naruto jumped back to put so distance between the two.

"You still have much to learn, kid. Having a reach advantage isn't everything. I'm sure that you thought it would be easier to strike me with your reach advantage, but you forgot one very important detail. You only observed my weakness, you completely disregarded my strengths."

"Explain." said a confused Naruto.

"Well, besides the obvious fact that I have two weapons and you have one, the longer the weapon, the slower and more restrictive it is. But snapping my staff in half, I have the have the advantage in speed and agility."

After taking in what Egg Shen had told him, Naruto cursed to himself. 'Damn it! The old bastard's right! I should've seen that! While I was only thinking of my advantages, he thought of my advantages and weaknesses, as well as his.'

"Don't beat yourself up over it, kid. I've fought against every kind of weapon there is, so I already have the advantage of knowing their strengths and weaknesses. You, on the other hand, have only fought against staff and sword users, correct?"

"Hai, Sensei."

"Well, it's impossible to know how to use your staff properly against the more exotic weapons around the world. But hopefully this will humble you enough for you to want to train against weapons outside of the standard sword or staff. Now, how about you stop holding back and start getting serious, or do you need some more motivation?" Egg Shen taunted.

This is when Naruto realized that he was being toyed with by Egg Shen. He had actually thought that he was close to surpassing Egg Shen, but this spar was showing him just how far he needed to go to even come close to someone as strong as Egg Shen, and it was humbling. With all the experience he had gained, there was still such a big gap between their power. It was like a genin fighting an Anbu level nin, which was ironic since he knew that he had to be at Sannin level.

Naruto decided to go all out against the old man. He started spinning his staff in front of him, creating a huge gust of wind that would've blown anyone with less than chuunin chakra control away. As suddenly as he started, he stopped, but Egg Shen could see the transparent, blue chakra covering the green staff. Naruto then jabbed his staff at Egg Shen, creating a horizontal tornado that encased the staff. Egg Shen knew that the staff didn't need to touch him for him to be hit, so he jumped to his left side, letting the staff pass by him.

The trees in the path of the staff were completely blown away, giving the apperance that an actual tornado had gone through the area. Naruto then grabbed the edge of staff with both hands and spun three hundred and sixty degrees, swinging at Egg Shen's head like a baseball player. Egg Shen instinctively ducked, causing more trees behind him to blow away.

Naruto then jumped towards Egg Shen, swinging his staff vertically, trying to smash Egg Shen head. While he jumped forward, Egg Shen jumped back, spreading his legs, so the staff would fall harmlessly between his legs. What he didn't expect was for a jagged blade at the tip of the staff to shoot out, turning the staff into a scythe.

The scythe sliced into the crotch of Egg Shen's pants, revealing white underwear. 'That was a little to close for comfort' thought Egg Shen, observing the blade on Naruto's staff. It was actually just one of Kamachii's claws that had extended from the tip of the staff. "Clever. Any normal shinobi would've been cut down by that attack. Your finally starting to use your unpredictability to your advantage. But your still underestimating me. You didn't use your wind manipulation for that attack."

"Well, it's just supposed to be a spar. I don't want to kill you, especially not by cutting your old balls off."

"And what makes you so sure that you would've actually hit me with that attack." Egg Shen said, from behind Naruto, before striking him from behind in the same fashion that he did the first time they fought, instantly paralyzing the boy.

Naruto fell to the ground in agony, then smirked. "You have to look underneath the underneath, Sensei." Naruto then burst into smoking, revealing himself to be a shadow clone.

Before Egg Shen could retreat, the ground under his feet began to glow purple, revealing seals that had been placed there prior to Egg Shen stepping on it. With the seals activated, Egg Shen was detained within the seal. "What the hell!" said Egg Shen.

"Just a little seal I've been working on. You like it? It completely detains anyone standing in it, once activated."

"Quite the seal, kid." Egg Shen said, as the seal started to falter before it completely deactivated. "Unfortunately, my knowledge of seals far surpasses yours."

"How'd you do that? You shouldn't have been able to disable that seal!"

"I can easily see through the make-up of seals. It's just a matter of rearranging the seal, to make them unstable, though it can become dangerous if you don't know what your doing. Worse case scenario, you could end up strengthening the seal or turning it into one that could be fatal. Now, shall we continue?"

'This is going to be a long day.' Naruto thought to himself.

_Seven hours later..._

Egg Shen was carrying Naruto back to his residence on his back. Naruto was still awake, but completely exhausted. Egg Shen had managed to push him passed his limits. He now understood where he had to approve, which just so happened to be almost all areas. But it only motivated him to become stronger.

Egg Shen was thoroughly impressed with Naruto's progression. Naruto had exceeded his expectations, even surprising the old man a couple of times. Naruto had been keeping a few aces, kings, and queens up his sleeve. "So, when were you planning to tell me about that technique of yours?" asked Egg Shen.

"What technique?"

"Kid, don't play dumb with me. I knew that you were hiding secrets, as do all shinobi, but you definitely should've told me about this one."

"Well...Lo Pan helped me develop it. I...I just didn't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing that I used the power that he helped me create."

"Stop acting like such a child. He may have helped you develop that power, but it is your power, not his. Besides, he won't be taking much satisfaction out of knowing that he helped bring about his downfall, will he?" Egg Shen said, with a smile.

Naruto smiled back at the old man. "Hai, Sensei."

"Once we get back, I want you to get some sleep. You'll be going back to Konoha tomorrow. The graduation exams are tomorrow."

"Oh..." Naruto said, in an emotionless tone.

"I thought we got rid of your little emo phase."

"No, it's not that. It's just..."

"Don't worry, kid. I'll pop up every now and again, to check up on you. I can't have my star pupil getting lazy now, can I?"

Naruto smiled at the old man again. Egg Shen had become like a grandfather to him, and he wasn't in a rush to go back to the same place that treated him like shit for the majority of his life.

_The Next Day..._

_(In Konoha)_

_At the Academy..._

Everyone had come earlier than normal, excited about taking the exams. In all honesty, none of them were ready for the life of a ninja. Thoughts of killing or seeing your teammates killed never entered their minds. They only thought of striking hero poses, while saving the princess. They were in for a rude awakening.

When Naruto walked in, all of the students turned to look at him. He was no longer wearing his usual clothes. He was wearing green coveralls(see flight suit, Top Gun), with black boots, and a yellow band across the arm; signifying his alliance with the Chang Sings. A ponytail hung at the back of Naruto's head, reaching his back, but from the front, Naruto could easily be mistaken as young Minato Namikaze.

Naruto walked into the room, ignoring the glares from Sasuke and Kiba. Kiba, who was once on good terms with Naruto, had since become very hostile toward Naruto. The reason for such a dramatic change? A certain Hyuuga heiress that had taken a liking toward the young blonde. Hinata Hyuuga had become infatuated with Naruto, which was not missed by Kiba. Kiba had already marked Hinata as his mate, yet Hinata had shown no interest in the boy and thought him to be incredibly rude and forward.

Naruto was waved over by Sai. On the way to his seat, Naruto nodded towards Shikamaru and Chouji, which was returned. Naruto continued his ascent to his chair, stopping to smile and wink at Hinata, who blushed furiously. He heard the growl come from Kiba, which is what he was hoping for.

He finally found his seat, next to Sai. "I take it that your training is complete." whispered Sai.

"Hai." answered Naruto.

Naruto had confronted Sai about Danzo long ago. Since then, Sai had begun to think for himself. With Naruto as his best friend, Sai personality had taken a dramatic turn. Sai trusted Naruto far more than anyone else in the village, considering that Naruto reminded him of his dead brother. Sai had since left the Root organization and dedicated himself to protecting the one that he now considered a brother. Danzo was livid. He had sent many Root members to assassinated Sai, but they never returned. Once Danzo figured that the kyuubi brat was probably helping Sai, he withdrew, wary of the wrath that the kyuubi brat would bring if something were to happen to Sai. Naruto was still an unknown to Danzo, and Danzo was far too smart to underestimate the unknown.

Sai now lived with Naruto, and was the only person in the village to know what Naruto truly was. "I figured as much. You should probably supress your chakra, it's shooting through the roof. Any sensory nin will be able to sense it a mile away."

"I _am_ suppressing it."

"WHAT!" Sai yelled, gaining the attention of the entire class.

Naruto just sweat-dropped.

Fortunately, Ino and Sakura bursted through the door, arguiing over who got to sit next to Sasuke, taking the attention away from Naruto and Sai.

At that moment, Iruka and Mizuki entered the room and told the girls to sit down and shut up. Once the girls complied, Iruka and Mizuki handed out the written exams.

Just as Naruto had expected, Mizuki had cast a weak genjutsu over Naruto's exam. Dispelling the genjutsu, Naruto completed his exam and turned it in to Iruka, followed by Sai. Iruka graded the papers and gave them both perfect scores. Sakura was the only other person to get a perfect score, though Sasuke had come close.

Next was the taijutsu portion of the exam. Naruto and Sai didn't even have to participate, which caused most of the other students to protest, until Iruka reminded them how much more advanced they were compared to the rest of the class. Even Mizuki had no objections to this. Sasuke didn't protest verbally, but mentally he wasn't the happiest person in the world. 'Why do they get to skip this part but I, a Uchiha, have to take it. This is bullshit!' he thought to himself.

After the taijutsu part of the exam was finished, they went back into the classroom and perform the ninjutsu portion of the exam, which included executing a bushin, a henge, a replacement jutsu, and a personal jutsu(for extra credit).

Sasuke had just finished executing his katon jutsu, which impressed both instructors. He walked to his seat, with a superior smirk on his face, as his fangirls went crazy; praising the Uchiha as the number one rookie.

"Uzumaki Naruto, please step forward." Iruka said.

Naruto did as Iruka said. He was told to do the replacement jutsu first, which he did. Next, he did the henge jutsu, turning himself into a perfect copy of the Yondaime Hokage.

"Iruka-sensei! He didn't change his appearance! Naruto-baka only changed his clothes!" yelled Sakura.

"Sakura, sit down and shut up. He changed into the Yondaime Hokage, he just so happens to resemble him." said Iruka, though he was just as stunned as to how much Naruto looked like the Yondaime.

Sakura scowled at her sensei, but didn't reply.

For his bushin, Naruto made a lightning bushin. He tried to encourage Mizuki to touch it, but Iruka stopped him before Naruto dispelled it into lightning.

"Naruto, where did you learn the raiton bushin?" asked a shocked Iruka.

"Here and there." Naruto replied.

"Well, you want to go for extra credit?"

"Sure, why not?"

Naruto bit his thumb and went into a series of seals, then slammed his hand on the ground. The result was a huge cloud of smoke.

"Smoke? This his jutsu? What a loser." Sasuke said, making the majority of the class burst into laughter.

As the smoke cleared, the laughs were turned to shrieks and screams. Even Sasuke stiffened when the eight foot mantis approach him.

"Hey, Naruto! Who's this weakling and why does he insult me?"

"Oh. That's the 'great last Uchiha'. Bow in his presence." Naruto said, sarcastically.

"Bow? Yeah, right. The day I would bow to such a weakling is the day father would bow to...anyone."

Even in his fear, Sasuke sneered at the mantis, which the mantis completely ignored.

Iruka was the first to come to his senses. "Naruto, is that a summon?"

"Of course, Iruka-sensei. What else would it be?"

"But...you're only an academy student. Not only should it be be impossible for you to have a summoning contract, but normal academy shouldn't have enough chakra to summon something this big. Lastly, I've never even heard of a mantis contract, outside of some legends. They are said to be the strongest and oldest summons on the planet, and you have a contract for them."

"Yeah." was Naruto's reply.

Everyone in the classroom was in awe. Some visible grimaced at the fact that Naruto had seemingly progressed even further. Naruto had always been ahead of the class, but now he seemed to be so much more ahead of them, and yet they all had the feeling that Naruto hadn't even begun to show them what he was truly capable of.

"Incredible, Naruto!" Iruka almost shouted, while handing Naruto his Konoha forehead protector.

"Thank you, Iruka-sensei." Naruto said, excepting the forehead protector.

Mizuki grimaced as he thought about what had just happened. They had just made the demon into a shinobi of the same village that he had destroyed years ago.

"Alright, Kamachii. I'll summon you back out here later on today, after class."

"Alright, Naruto. See ya later!" Kamachii said, before disappearing with a puff of smoke.

The last one to go was Sai, who made ink clones and summoned three lions that were made of ink.

"Very good, Sai! To be able to manipulate your drawings like that is a talent indeed! You will be very valuable to whatever team you end up going to." Iruka praised.

"Thank you, Iruka-sensei." Sai said, snatching the forehead protector from Mizuki's hands. Sai had noticed Mizuki disdain for Naruto long ago, and he didn't like the teacher. Mizuki just glared at the boy. He had noticed that Sai had taken a liking to Naruto, therefore making him guilty by association.

"OK, we were going to reveal the new teams and rookie of the year tomorrow, but, since we finished so early, I have been given permission, by the Hokage, to let you know this information, though most of you won't have your team meeting until tomorrow. So, which do you want to hear first?"

"I say 'rookie of the year', even though we all know that it's gonna be Sasuke!" said the pink banshee, backed by the rest of the fangirls, excluding Ino.

"Why does she speak as if she isn't, physically, the weakest person in the class?" Sai asked Naruto, loud enough so that Sakura could hear him.

"What did you say, you pale losers!" Sakura shouted.

"I think that she may be retarded, like her mother. I mean...look at her. I'd rather hear what teams we'll be on, that way I'll know whether or not I'll have to kick old man Hokage's ass for putting me on that banshee's team. Knowing him, he probably tried putting the strongest with the weakest." Naruto said, completely ignoring the glare he was getting from Sakura.

_In Sarutobi's office..._

The Hokage sneezed and got a chill up his spine. "What the hell was that? Someone must be talking about me."

_Back at the Academy..._

"Iruka-sensei, I want to hear the team selection first."

"Okay, anyone object to Naruto's request?"

Sakura's hand was the only one in the air. "Ino, what the hell are you doing?" Sakura scolded her friend.

"Put your hand down, Forehead! I want to find out whether I'm on Sasuke's team or not!" Ino said.

Everyone realized, by Sakura's expression, that the girl had never even thought about it. "Sasuke-kun's gonna be on my team, Ino pig!" Sakura yelled.

"See, she's retarded." Naruto deadpanned.

_Five minutes later..._

"Team Seven will consist of Uchiha Sasuke, Hanaro Sakura, and Inuzuka team will be lead by Hatake Kakashi."

Sakura seemed to be the only happy one in the new team. Sasuke was not looking forward to being teammates with a fangirl and Kiba was disappointed that he wasn't going to be on Hinata's team.

"Team Eight will consist of Aburame Shino, Hyuuga Hinata, and Kang Liu. Your team will be led by Kurenai."

Hinata was disappointed that she wasn't on the same team as Naruto, but Shino and Liu seemed content with their new team.

(Team Ten still consist of Shikamaru, Chouji, and Ino; so I'll skip that part)

The only ones left were Naruto and Sai. The others were well aware of what that meant. Whenever there weren't enough students to make up a team, the left over students were placed on the reserves list and forced to wait until the next year to get assigned a team, unless someone was injuried, died, or quit. This fate was normally reserved for the worst students of the graduating class. It gave said student time to gain the necessary skills for actual missions.

"Ha! Naruto-baka and Sai-baka both got stuck on the reserves!" Sakura laughed, prompted the rest of the fangirls to laugh at the two. Kiba also laughed his obnoxious laugh, pointing at the two ninja.

"What a loser. Better luck next year, dobe." Sasuke said, chuckling himself.

"I'm glad that you all find that amusing." said Iruka. "Now, why don't we find out who this year 'rookie of the year' is?"

The class finally calmed down enough to hear who would be selected to be 'rookie of the year'.

"This year's 'rookie of year' is Naruto and Sai."

The whole classroom went silent, until Sakura, Kiba, Ino, Sasuke, and his fangirls let out a collective screech. "WHAT!"

"You were so quick to jump to conclusions. Naruto and Sai not only had the highest scores throughout the entire year, but they were the only ones that had a perfect score on each portion of the exam."

"But they didn't even take the taijutsu portion!" yelled Kiba.

"Well, how about me and you go outside and take it right now?" asked Naruto.

Kiba visibly tensed. It was apparent that he did not want to spar with Naruto.

"I thought so." said Naruto.

"Like I was saying, Naruto and Sai have been sparring at chuunin level through the entire year. Even I would be have trouble with them." Naruto and Sai gave each other a look that said 'Is he crazy? Does he really believe that he could keep up with us?'.

"That's why Naruto and Sai have both been given special titles. I went to the Hokage and recommended that they be placed as special genin, pending their exams, of course. As of this moment, both Naruto and Sai outrank all of you, and any other genin."

This did not go over well with the majority of the class, but Naruto and Sai ignored the glares they were given. Iruka then looked at Naruto and Sai, and spoke directly to them. "Naruto. Sai. You are to report in thirty minutes. Your new sensei wants both of you to come mission-ready. Here are directions to where you are to meet her. I'm proud of both of you, and honored that I was able to be your instructor. You may leave now."

"This is bullshit!" yelled Sasuke.

"Sasuke! Watch your mouth! This decision was approved by the Hokage! If you have a problem, take it up with him!"

Sasuke just sat back and glared at the instructor, before turning to glare at the backs of Naruto and Sai as they exited the classroom.

Naruto and Sai both followed the directions that Iruka gave them. They were both already mission-ready. After Danzo started attacking Sai, they made it a point to always be prepared for battle. The directions led to the heart of the Forest of Death. Naruto and Sai both had to kill multiple oversized snakes and insects prior to reaching the spot. They arrived with 15 minutes to spare, so they decided to sit down and wait for their sensei.

They didn't have to wait long. A kunai was thrown at Naruto from his left side. Naruto caught the kunai and stabbed it into the ground, not even acknowledging who threw it. "Well, I must say that I'm impressed that you two made it this far. I was actually hoping that you two would get eaten before I got here. It would've saved me the trouble of training you two shit-stains."

"Enough with your bitching and moaning. Are you gonna tell us what we need to do to pass or what?" asked Naruto, in his usual bored tone.

"Shut up, you arrogant little shit!"

"I seem to be hearing that a lot lately."

"Okay. All you have to do is manage to beat me and you pass. I'm going to enjoy kicking your ass all around this forest, brat. It been a while since I've tasted blood as young as yours, you little blonde piece of shit."

"Well, maybe we can set something up later and you can have all the blood you want. However, now is not that time. Sai! I want you to stay back. I'll handle her."

"She's all yours Naruto." Sai said, taking a seat on a tree stump.

"You can't possibly believe that you can handle me on your own."

"How about a bet? You win, I give you whatever you want. I win, you go on a date with me. Deal?"

"Deal. After I get done slicing your body to ribbons, you'll pay for my dango."

"It would be impossible for me to do that if you slice me to ribbons." Naruto said, matter-of-factly.

The female instructor jumped from her branch and got into her stance.

"Snake style, huh?"

"Getting scared already?"

Naruto did not answer. Instead, he went into his Praying Mantis style. He purposely left out his Jeet Kun Do, deciding to keep it a secret until the right time. Besides, his standard Praying Mantis style should've been more than enough to handle the pyschotic instructer.

"The Praying Mantis style? You really are ignorant to think that you can beat me using that. What? You read a book on the style and practiced a couple of katas, now you think you can use it on someone like me? I'm so going to enjoy cutting your arrogant little balls off and rolling them like dice."

"You sure do talk a lot, for someone that supposed to be so badass, Anko-chan."

"How'd you know my name?"

"..."

"Did you hear me? I asked you a question, gaki!"

"..."

Anko finally snapped. She wasn't the most stable of shinobi anyway, but Naruto had pressed all of the wrong buttons. She was only planning to hurt the kid before. Now, she was planning on crippling the boy for life. She lunged at Naruto, aiming to jab him in the throat with a fast snake strike. Naruto merely jumped back, out of range of her strike.

Anko had planned to follow him and was in the process of doing so, until Naruto landed. Instead of back-peddling, as soon as Naruto feet touch the ground, he bolted forward, striking Anko in the left arm. Anko's left arm went limp, but she grabbed Naruto's right arm with her right arm.

"That arm isn't going be any good for at least 20 minutes. I tried not to be too rough." Naruto said in a sexually suggestive tone.

"I like it rough." Anko said, in her own sexually suggestive tone.

Before Naruto had the chance see them coming, three snakes flew out of Anko's sleeves, striking Naruto in the neck. "Looks like you'll be going back to the Academy. I also remember something about a bet." said Anko. To her surprise, the 'Naruto' that she struck disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"As do I." the real Naruto said from behind Anko, before hitting her with a strike that he had been the target of numerous times. Anko wasn't able to move a muscle. She collapsed on the forest ground.

"What the hell do you do to me?" Anko said. She was still pissed and wanted Naruto's blood.

"The same thing I did to your arm, only a more powerful strike. You'll be there for an hour."

"You can't leave me here for an hour! Even I'll die out here if I can't moved, you little asshole!"

"Such a filthy mouth. Like I said, your owe me a date. I can't let you die yet without letting you pay your debt."

Naruto picked Anko up and threw her over his shoulder. "You better not be grab my ass, gaki."

"There'll be plenty of time for that in the future, Anko-chan. Just be patient. Sai, I'll meet you at the apartment."

"Yeah. Take it easy on her, bro." said Sai, with a smirk on his face.

"I'll be a perfect gentlemen."

_Twenty minutes later..._

Naruto had taken Anko to the top of the Hokage Monument and left her there, cursing him to the worst death imaginable. Naruto arrived back at the Hokage Monument ten minutes later, with a blanket and a basket. Anko was still cursing him, while he spread the blanket over the ground.

Naruto then picked Anko up and placed her on the blanket. "Let go of me, you little piece of shit!" she spat.

"Oh, now it's let go of you? I could've sworn that you were the one begging me to take you out of the Forest of Death. You didn't have a problem with me touching you then, now did you?"

"I. Wasn't. Begging."

"Whatever you say." Naruto said, as he lifted her head and laid it on his lap.

"What the fuck are you doing!"

"Shut up." Naruto said, before opening the basket, revealing dango and sake.

Anko instantly became like a child. "A-Are those for me?" she said, eyes glazing over.

"Of course. What kind of man would I be if I let you pay on our date? Now, open up." Anko opened her mouth, as Naruto fed her dango.

"Mmph. You sure know how to treat a girl." Anko said, with a mouthful of dango.

"If I knew that dango calmed you down this much, I would've just offered to buy you some and saved myself a lot of trouble."

"Speaking of which, just how strong are you, and how did you know my name?"

"As far as how strong I am, let's just say that I'm above genin level."

"And how you knew my name?"

"Simple. I've been watching you for a while now."

"Watching me? Why?"

"Because the villagers seem to hate you almost as much as me. I wanted to know why."

"Fuck those close-minded pricks. I could give a shit what they think of me."

"Cut the bullshit. I know that you care. I've seen you cry when you thought that you were alone."

"If I were you, I'd drop this subject right now." Anko warned.

"Well, you aren't me. I'm not afraid of you, Anko-chan. When you've gone through as much as we have, there's little room left for fear."

"You don't know shit about me, so don't go waxing intellectual about my problems."

"You're wrong, I do know about you. It's what draws me to you, and you to me. You think I haven't noticed you spying on me every once in a while? There's no use in denying it. Face it, you're just as screwed up as me, if not moreso. Though I don't know the details, I do know that Orochi-"

"Don't you DARE say that bastard's name in my presence!"

"It isn't your fault, you know. You were taken advantage of. The people of this village may not see it, but I do. We are the same. Two innocent people corrupted by the world. Even if you weren't my new sensei, we still would've sought each other out eventually."

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"I mean is that only someone like me would be crazy enough to be attracted to you. Who else would take you on a date, against your will, and feed you dango atop of the Hokage Monument? And trust me, no other woman in this village would dare to speak to me as you have today, without fearing for her life. It's because you could give a shit about the kyuubi sealed inside of me, just like I could give a shit about that snake bastard, Orochimaru. You see me as a normal person, the same as I see you. It's because our definition of normal is completely different from the village's."

"So, two demons think of each other as normal?" Anko said sadly, looking away from Naruto.

Naruto tilted her head by her chin, until she was staring at him again. Naruto then gave Anko a kiss, which, surprisingly, she returned with even more force, as if she had been waiting for someone to kiss her all of her life.

Breaking the kiss, Naruto spoke again. "Demon? No. You are my angel, Anko-chan. The one that will save me from my own darkness." Naruto said, smiling widely.

Anko melted into Naruto's lap. As tough as she appeared to be, she wanted the same thing every other woman wanted; something she had been denied due to her association with the snake sannin. That was for someone to care about her; for someone to not prejudge or treat her any differently than anyone else.

Until now, no one had seen through her tough, psychotic exterior, mainly because she actually was very unstable. Waking up with your kidneys missing wasn't an impossibility with her. The only way to handle someone as strong-willed and free spirited as Anko was to literally tame her, which no shinobi or villager in Konoha was capable of doing; at least not until now.

Anko was having conflicting feelings about Naruto. A part of her still wanted to bleed him dry, part of her wanted to subdue and mount him (with or without his permission), part of her grimaced a the thought of taking a 13 year old genin seriously (though she did acknowledge that he was far from a normal 13 year old), and part of her wanted to completely submit to Naruto.

Before Anko could manage to clear her thoughts, Naruto's hand gently ran up and down her stomach. Her body jumped instinctually, but she put her head back and took in the feeling of someone elses' touch against her skin. It had been so long since someone had acutally touched her, outside of trying to killing her, she had actually forgotten how good it could feel.

"Anko-chan, you do know that you can move now, right?"

Anko wiggled her toes, confirming that she could indeed move again. She suddenly produced a kunai, seemingly out of nowhere, and swung it at Naruto's throat. Naruto didn't flinch, nor did he even attempt to move from it's path. Seeing that he wasn't going to move, Anko stopped her swing centimeters away from Naruto's throat. "Why didn't you move?" she asked.

"Why did you stop?"

"Because I didn't want to get any of your blood on my jacket." Anko said, laying her head back on Naruto's lap.

"You smell that? Smells like bullshit to me!" Naruto joked.

Anko was not amused. She snorted "As if there could ever be anything between myself and an infant like you. Imagine the villagers would say?"

"Who gives a shit what the villagers say? How could it possibly be worse than what they say about us already?"

"You couldn't handle a girl like me anyway. You aren't experienced enough for me, kid. But I wouldn't mind having a little slave to do whatever I want. Dango!" she said, as Naruto fed her another dango.

"Sorry. I not into the whole S&M thing. And as for me not being enough for you, that remains to be seen. It may end up being you that can't handle me. Underestimating me is what got you here in the first place."

Anko's narrowed her eyes, remembering being beaten by Naruto, then a devilish smirk appeared on her face. "We shall see, Uzumaki Naruto. We shall see."

With that, she stood and vanished from the Hokage Monument, taking the rest of the dango with her.

"Why do I get the feeling that she's up to something that's gonna cause me problems in the near future?" Naruto asked himself.

_(With the Sandaime Hokage)_

There had been another council meeting called, directly after the genin graduation. The civilian council, and a few shinobi clan heads, were outraged that the demon brat had even been allowed to graduated. But when word got out that he and another, not even from one of the clans of Konoha, had been promoted to special genin, all hell broke loose.

To be honest, the Nara clan head, the Akimichi clan head, Sarutobi, and Danzo were the only ones that didn't feel some sort of resentment towards the young jinchuuriki, though Danzo merely considered Naruto to be a weapon of the village of Konoha.

"This is bullshit! That damn brat should've been killed on sight as soon as he stepped foot back in this village, and yet you promote him to a title that hasn't been given since the Third Great Ninja War? That's foolishness, Sarutobi!" said Haruno Kira, speaking on behave of the civilian population.

"I have to agree, Hokage-sama. I do not understand why you keep such a threat like Uzumaki Naruto alive." said Hiashi, the Hyuuga clan head.

"First of all, you will address me as 'Hokage-sama', Haruno-san. Secondly, Uzumaki Naruto was given the title of special genin simply because he is far more advance than the other students. There was no favoritism, he earned his title."said Sarutobi.

Tsume, head of the Inuzuka clan, snorted. "I highly doubt that. But assuming you are correct, if he's so strong, what will happen when he gets older. What will you do when he attacks this village? How are we to know that he won't attack us on a whim of his?"

"Well, you could never be sure whether or not he will attack you. But, if someone spoke to you the way the majority of you speak to Uzumaki Naruto, you would probably attack them as well, would you not?" asked Sarutobi, silencing the Inuzuka head.

"Well, with all due respect, he isn't the same as us. My daughter has told me disturbing things about the de-...boy. From what she tells me, the boy is nothing but trouble. I vote that the boy be killed, or at least banished from the village." said Inoichi.

Before any one else could agree, Sarutobi slammed his fist into the table, turning the entire table into toothpicks. "SILENCE! This issue is not up for discussion! Uzumaki Naruto is a shinobi under MY command! That means that nothing will happen to him unless I deem it necessary! Do you understand me?" Sarutobi said in a barely restrained voice.

A few shinobi answered, but the rest remained defiant, glaring at the old Hokage.

"I SAID DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME!" Sarutobi said, as his killing intent rose through the roof. Some of the civilians even fainted or collapsed and seized on the ground.

"HAI, HOKAGE-SAMA!" everyone that was still conscious yelled.

The Sandaime Hokage then stormed out of the room. Once gone, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Any thoughts of the old man had becoming docile in his old age had immediately been dispersed. Not since the kyuubi attack had they felt so much killing intent.

_Two Weeks Later..._

Indeed, Anko had been planning something for young Naruto. After finding out that Naruto and Sai were far more advanced than mere genins in team strategy and tactics, due to the multiple times they had been attacked by Root members, she decided to train them in her specialty; assasinations, torture, and interrogations. Since she had no test subjects, she normally volunteered her two students, though Naruto got the worst of the torture. And since Naruto was so stubborn, he always got the worst of the interrogation training.

Anko had demanded that her team take no less than C-Rank missions. Given that they were special genin, the Sandaime agreed to her demands, but warned her that she would take full responsibility for any lost of life during said missions.

They had completed 10 C-Rank missions, unscathed, and were currently returning from their first B-Rank.

As they entered the Sandaime's office, they reported that the mission had been successful. Just as the Sandaime was about to dismiss them, Pakkun, one of Kakashi's summons, jumped through the window and explained to the Sandaime that Team 7's mission had been upgraded, due to hostile foreign shinobi targeting the client. He also explained that the client knew about it prior to contracting Konoha shinobi.

Sarutobi sighed and lit the pipe hanging from his mouth. "Anko-san, I need your team to back Team 7 up. Is your team up to it?"

Anko shared a look with Naruto and Sai, then answered. "Hai, Hokage-sama. What kind of mission are we talking about, and where is it located at?"

"Well, as you heard, it started off as a simple C-Rank. Team 7 were to guard the bridge builder Tazuna, who is a resident of the Wave Country. However, with this attack from the Demon Brothers and the possibility of another attack from any even higher ranking shinobi, this mission is at least a B-Rank mission, possibly an A-Rank." Sarutobi finished.

"Ya hear that, boys? We may have an A-Rank mission on our hands!" Anko squealed.

"Well, we're already packed, so let head out!" said Naruto, just as excited.

"But these clothes are dirty. Can't we at least get some clean ones." Sai complained, but was completely ignored. "I mean, what if I meet an attractive girl in the Wave? We smell like a mixture of fish and shit. Do you know how hard it is to get a girl when you smell like that?" Sai said, but was still ignored by his teammates. Before Sai could complain anymore, he was dragged out of the window by an excited Anko and Naruto.

_Four hours later..._

Team Anko had managed to catch up to Team 7, due to the civilian bridge builder slowing them down. When they arrived, the saw that the Kirigakure nuke-nin, Momochi Zubuza, had just captured Kakashi in a mass of water. Kakashi's genin seemed to be scared stiff, which was understandable, facing a jounin such as Zubuza.

"Anko-sensei, let me take care of Zubuza." Naruto whispered.

"What? And miss the chance to fight one of the 'Seven Swordsman of the Mist'? You've got to be fucking joking?" Anko whispered back.

"You always get take the big ones! I called this one first!"

"The other ones could hardly be called 'big ones'. But this, this is the real deal!"

"Rock, paper, scissor?" Naruto asked.

"Fine. Rock, paper, scissors, shoot! Damn it!"

"Ha! Now you get to see the master at work!" declared Naruto, triumphantly.

"Yeah, yeah. Just try not to get killed."

"Awwww. Is Anko-chan worry about wittle old Naruto?" Naruto said in a child's voice, causing Anko to blush and glare at the same time.

Naruto jumped from his branch and landed in the middle of the clearing, startling everyone in the clearing. "Am I late?"

"Naruto? What are you doing here? Get out of here while you still can! All of you, get out, now!"

"Calm down, Kakashi. I was sent here by the Sandaime, as backup."

"Why'd they send a loser like you?" Sasuke said, all his fear forgotten and replaced with angry, seeing the special genin.

Sakura and Kiba also seemed to forget their, with the arrival of the young blond "Yeah! If Sasuke couldn't handle it, why would they send a useless loser like you!" Sakura yelled.

"Special genin. More like special shithead! Who reveals themselves to the enemy like that, you moron!" Kiba shouted.

Both, Sai and Anko had to restrain themselves from attack the genin where they stood.

"You know what, Zabuza? I'm starting to rethink my decision to help these weaklings. Unfortunately, I had no quarrels with Kakashi. How about we trade? Kakashi for these three?" Naruto said, motioning to the three genin.

"Oh. So you know my name? I'm impressed that one so young would be familiar with one such as I. You seem more advanced than the clueless trash behind you. Unfortunately, I don't plan on letting Sharingan Kakashi go so easily. You see, I'll be able to fetch quite a large sum of money with his head. But, you do intrigue me. How able you join me instead?" said Zabuza.

"No can do, No Brow. You see, I have this thing for this sexy little snake charmer back home." Anko snorted at that. "And it would be hard from me to marry her and raise our kids if I'm on the road with you all of the time."

"You would anyone want to marry you, Naruto-baka?" Sakura chimed in.

"Are you sure you wouldn't rather take them?" Naruto said, before getting into his stance.

"What is your name, kid? I normally wouldn't ask, but you intrigue me greatly. I will remember you long after you have passed."

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto, and I don't plan on dying any time soon."

Zabuza's clone, seeing an opportunity to strike, shot toward Naruto with speed that no genin could match and swung the massive Kubikiri Hōchō at Naruto, in a vertical strike, intent on slicing the young blonde in two. Naruto jumped back, letting the blade slash into the ground. He then jumped forward, before the clone could react, landing on the massive blade. Using the blade for leverage, Naruto jumped toward the clone, planting a hard knee into the clones face, dispelling it as continued forward. Naruto landed on his feet as the puddle of water collapsed behind him.

"Hmmm. Impressive. I didn't expect you to be able to defeat one of my clones. And to do it with such ease, you are an impressive one, Uzumaki Naruto. But there is much more where that came from." Zubuza said, create ten more mizu bushin.

"Sorry, Zubuza, but I've gotta cut this fight a little short. Kakashi isn't looking too good in there. It wouldn't look to good if I allowed him to die, when I'm supposed to be backing him up."

Without warning, Naruto threw a kunai at the Zubuza holding Kakashi. "You're too arrogant, kid. You can't possibly think that can stop me."

While Zubuza was talking, he missed the series of handseals Naruto had done. Just before Zubuza was about to catch the kunai, 50 kunai appeared beside them, moving at incredible speed. "Shit." was all Zubuza was able to say before he was forced to cancel his jutsu and dive out of the way. However, he did not get away completely unscathed. His carelessness was awarded with a gash just below his eye. Needless to say, he was not happy.

"Brat. I'm gonna kill you." Zubuza said, stalking toward the special genin.

"Hey, it's not my fault. You were the one that got careless, and yoy paid for it. Never underestimate your opponent, Zubuza. You would do good to remember that. And, with that gash under your eye, I doubt that you will be forgetting it any time soon." Naruto said, nonchalantly, cleaning his ear with his pinky, while looking up at the sky.

Before Zubuza could exact his revenge, Kakashi had stepped in. The two had finished their battle, with Zubuza on the receiving end of the beating. Just as Kakashi was about to finish him, three senbon needles hit Zabuza in the neck, effectively 'killing' him. As Kakashi looked up, he saw that it was the work of a Kiri hunter-nin.

After thanking Naruto and Kakashi for weakening Zabuza, the hunter-nin took Zabuza and vanished into thin air. At this point, Kakashi fell unconscious from using his sharingan so excessively during the fight.

"A little help, here?" Naruto said, as Anko and Sai jumped from their branches.

"Why'd you let that hunter-nin go, Naruto? You know that he was working with Zabuza." said Anko.

"Simple. How does an uninterrupted battle with those two sound?" Naruto said.

"I get Zubuza next time." Anko said, already getting excited about the chance to fight the nuke-nin.

"Anything for you, Anko-chan. Beside, I want the hunter-nin anyway."

"Right. Now, let's get Kakashi and the bridge builder back."

"Hey! Why don't we get the rest of Team 7 to carry Kakashi? They haven't done anything, and he IS their team leader." said Sai, with a devilish smirk.

"Sai, you're a genius." said Anko and Naruto, simultaneously.

_Twenty minutes later..._

Naruto and Anko walked with Tazuna, ahead of Team 7, while Sai walked at the back of the group. Team 7 collectively glared at the back of Naruto's head, each thinking of ways to get back at the young blonde. After twenty more minutes of walking, they reached the bridge builders home. They were greeted by Tsunami, Tazuna's daughter. Tsunami had instantly taken a liking to Naruto, which Anko didn't seem to like too much. Team 7 are instructed, by Anko, to place Kakashi into one of the beds upstairs. When Sasuke asked why they had to do it, Anko sent her snakes after them, causing them to sprint up the stairs, with Kakashi in tow.

Naruto then helped Tsunami cook, since she was nice enough to let them stay with her for the duration of the mission. Tsunami and Naruto laughed and conversed while they cooked, which made Anko even more hostile than before. Anko did not like Tsunami too much, but she couldn't figure out why. Ever since they had entered the house, Anko had the urge to beat the woman within an inch of her life. Everyone seemed to feel the tension as well, except for Naruto and Tsunami. Even during dinner, Naruto and Tsunami seemed to be the only ones talking.

Once they finished eating, they decided to choose where everyone was to sleep. "Well, why don't you and Sakura take the room next to Kakashi, me and Sasuke can stay in Kakashi room, and the other two can sleep downstairs; on the floor." Kiba suggested.

"I don't have a problem with that." Sai said.

"Hell no. I refuse to sleep in the same room with this shrieking fangirl. I'll end up killing her in my sleep." said Anko.

"Me and Anko can sleep upstairs, Sasuke and Sakura with Kakashi, and Sai and Kiba downstairs." said Naruto.

'Hell yeah!' thought Sakura.

"No. I also refuse to sleep in the same room as Sakura." said the emo Uchiha.

"Well, Sakura could always sleep in my room." said Tsunami.

"Okay. Well, let's get some sleep for now. Me and Naruto will take the first watch." said Anko.

Anko was quiet until everyone went to sleep. Once she was sure that no one was awake, she turned to Naruto. "Why didn't you try to get a room with your new girlfriend?"

"I thought that's what I did." Naruto said, clueless of what seemed to be bothering her.

"You know what I mean. I mean that bitch you were flirting with."

"Tsunami?"

"Yes. Tsunami."

"Flirting?"

"Yes. Flirting."

"..."

Naruto then burst into a fit of laughter that threatened to wake the others. Anko narrowed her eyes at the blonde.

"I'm glad you find this funny. I wonder if you'll find it so funny when I cut her fucking eyes out!"

Naruto immediately stopped laughing, but still had a smile on his face. "Anko...you're retarded." Naruto said.

"What was that?"

"I said that you are retarded. One girl, outside of yourself, treats me like a normal human being and you jump to conclusions. Were you even listening to me early today?"

"What are you talking about?"

"During the fight with Zabuza, I said that I wanted to marry you some day, that I wanted you to have my children. I wouldn't say those things if they weren't true and I wouldn't want those things from someone that I didn't love."

"I...I thought that you were just talking nonsense. I didn't know that you were serious!"

"Of course I was serious. I love you, Anko."

"I...I love you too, Naruto."

"Ha! I knew it!"

"S-Shut up!"

"Feels weird saying it out loud, huh?"

"Yeah. But it feels good to finally let it out."

"I apologize if I hurt you by acting that way around Tsunami. Looking back, if it was the other way around, I probably wouldn't have dealt with the situation as well as you did. Actually, I'm pretty sure that I would've killed someone by now."

"Oh, don't bother apologizing. I've already decided how you will make it up to me."

"Back massage? Foot rub?" Naruto asked, though he knew Anko better than that.

"No, though that does sound tempting. But I think I'm gonna use you to test a couple of new toutu-, I mean interrogation techniques that I've been working on, once we get back to Konoha."

"Shit." Naruto said, realizing that she was planning to inflict even more damage than before.

_A week later..._

Once Kakashi had finally awakened from his sharingan induced slumber, he revealed to his team that Zubuza was indeed alive, due to the actions of the fake hunter-nin. While Kakashi recovered, he set his team a training schedule. He had planned for Team Anko to take part in the training as well. Sadly, things didn't go as he planned.

_(Flashback)_

_"Tree-climbing? How's that supposed to help us fight someone like Zubuza?"_

_"It's not 'tree-climbing', it's 'tree-walking'. Let me demonstrate for you."_

_Kakashi then proceeded to walk up a tree, stopping under a branch, hanging upside. "You see? This is tree-walking." he said._

_"Again, how is this supposed to help us defeat someone like Zubuza?" Kiba deadpanned._

_"Let me take it from here, Kakashi." Anko said, standing up from the stump she had been sitting on. "What Kakashi means to say is that your chakra control sucks. Well all except the annoying pink haired girl, but she has low reserves anyway. The worse your chakra control is, the more you waste and the less effective it is."_

_"And who are you to tell us anything?" said Sasuke, as arrogant as ever._

_"Dumbass." Naruto said to Sai, as Sai nodded his head in agreement._

_"What did you say to me, you little Uchiha shithead?" Anko said, trying her hardest not to kill the boy._

_Sasuke was planning on repeating himself, but he was sliced on the cheek with a kunai before he could even open his mouth. Anko then smirked at the boy. "Someone as weak as you shouldn't even bother asking questions. Instead, you should be training, because you need as much as you can get. And stop trying to glare at me. You're about as threatening as a baby fox."_

_"Hey, you crazy bitch! How dare you hurt Sasuke-kun like that! I 'll make sure my mo-" before Sakura could finish, she was sporting a similar cut on her cheek. _

_"And you, I'm surprised that you haven't died yet. You are a disgrace to all shinobi. You're nothing more than a fangirl, playing at being a shinobi. You'll be lucky if you don't die before the end of this mission." Anko said._

_"That's the same thing I said." Naruto chimed in._

_The glares instantly went from Anko to Naruto. "Shut up, Naruto-baka!" Sakura yelled._

_"She's even uglier when she's mad, isn't she Bro?" Sai said to Naruto._

_"No doubt. She gets it from her mother." Naruto replied._

_"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU SAY?"_

_"We said that you are ugly. Add that to the fact that you're loud and weak and you may currently be one of the worst ninja in Konoha." answered Sai._

_Before Sakura could attempt to attack Sai, she was interrupted by Anko. "That's enough! Naruto! Sai! Go somewhere else and train for now." _

_Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Anko-san, I think Naruto and Sai should join my team in the training. Our teams may be able to help each other in completing the exercise."_

_Anko snorted. "No, Kakashi. They both completed that exercise, along with the leaf and water-walking exercises, long before they became genin. Actually, they were far more advaced than your average genin. Even I don't know what level they're really on. I've been teaching them assasination, interrogation, and torture tactics."_

_Kakashi's eye twitched. "Anko, that is far too advanced for kids their age. I know that they're supposed to be advanced, but teaching them that sort of thing is just irresponsible."_

_Anko laughed at the masked jounin. "Oh, the irony! My team just completed their first B-Rank before they had to come here and save your ass. Your team is far behind the average genin team, in teamwork and skill, yet you have the nerve to critique my team. Sai, alone, could take your entire team, excluding you, of course. But Naruto? He could easily take your entire team, with or without you."_

_Sasuke, who was eavesdropping, clenched his fist at the new information he had received. With a new determination, Sasuke continued his tree-walking exercise. 'That damn dobe won't beat me! I am a Uchiha! I have to get strong enough to beat Itachi! You will serve as my measuring stick, Uzumaki Naruto! I will utterly defeat you, then I will destroy you for trying to make a mockery out of the Uchiha clan!' Sasuke thought to himself._

_Kakashi eye-smiled at Anko, finding her confidence in her students amusing. "I fear that you overestimate your students, and underestimate me and my team. The notion that Sai is capable of defeating my team is hard enough to believe, but the thought of Naruto defeating me, let alone me and my team, is down right laughable."_

_"That's because you haven't seen what I've seen."_

_"And who's fault is that?" said Kakashi, in a more aggressive tone, that didn't seem to fit the jounin._

_"It was the Hokage's decision to make me his sensei, not me. I didn't even want a team. Never have. However, I will say that I am glad that the Hokage did give them to me. If you have a problem with that, take it up with the Hokage."_

_"Oh, I plan to. To think that the Hokage would see fit to give you your own team makes me question his sanity."_

_"Well, Naruto and Sai don't seem to mind one bit. Besides, they'd only end up getting weaker with a half-assed sensei like you. Just the fact that your students haven't even learned the tree-walking exercise is a testament to lackadaisical training habits."_

_"Okay, Anko! If you're so sure about you teams abilities, how about we set up a little sparring match, after the mission of course."_

_"Sure. Maybe it will motivate your team to become stronger, and motivate you to get off your lazy ass and give them some decent training. What are the stakes?"_

_"I win, your team will train with me, instead of you."_

_"OK, if I win, you will have to take off your mask. Deal?"_

_"Deal."_

_(Flashback Ends)_

Anko, Naruto, and Sai had the day off, while Team 7 had guard duty. They were on their way to the usual training spot, to do some light sparring, until they all noticed the fresh cuts in the trees and the blood of the wild animals.

"Naruto! You go check on Tsunami and Inari. Me and Sai will back up Kakashi and his team." said Anko.

"Right!" said Naruto, before using the shunshin jutsu, instantly disappearing.

_At the bridge..._

Kakashi was engaging Zabuza, but thing weren't looking good for the Copycat Ninja. Zabuza's subordinate had seen the previous fight and had broken down Kakashi's sharingan abilities, which put Kakashi at a disadvantage.

On the other side of the bridge, Sasuke was fighting a losing battle against the fake hunter-nin. Apparently, the hunter-nin had some sort of hyouton kekkei genkai, and was using it to completely overwhelm the last Uchiha.

Outside of the ice dome, Kiba wasn't having much luck. Kiba and Akamaru were up against the Demon Brothers. Kakashi carelessly tied them up and sent word to Konoha Anbu. Unfortunately, they had been freed prior to the arrival of the Anbu. Once freed, the Demon Brothers had trained until it was time for their payback from the team that defeated them, and they were currently taking reparations out of Kiba's ass.

Sakura seemed to be in the best shape, as she stood in front of the bridge builder with a kunai in her hand. Unfortunately, she was only half as intimidating as she looked. And considering that she didn't even look intimidating, it would be safe to call her useless against their current opponents.

"Sai! You help the mutt. I'll take Zabuza."

"What about the Uchiha?" Sai asked.

"Someone from such a great clan, like the Uchiha, won't need help from the likes of us." Anko mocked. "Besides, Naruto called the hunter-nin."

"Hai."

"You think you can handle those two?"

"When some wild-eyed, twin maniacs grabs your neck, taps the back of your head up against the barroom wall, and he looks you crooked in the eye and he asks you if ya paid your dues, you just stare those weird fuckers right back in the eye, and you remember what Sai always says at a time like that: _"Have ya paid your dues, Sai?"_"Yessir, the check is in the mail."

"Why do you always do that shit before a big fight? And what the fuck does that even mean, Sai? You know what? Don't answer that. Scatter."

Sai arrived just in time, as the Demon Brothers had just injuried Akamaru and were heading for Kiba. Before they were able to get within striking range, two lions, made entirely of ink, attacked the two Demon Brothers. The Demon Brothers were force to evade and counterattack, turning the lions into splashes of ink.

"I will be your opponent! Kiba! Take Akamaru and go guard the bridge builder. You can check on him there."

Kiba immediately followed Sai instructions, picking up the injuried Akamaru and sprinting to Tazuna and Sakura.

"You fate will be the-" one of the Demon Brother said, as the other one finished the statement. "same as the rest."

_(With Anko)_

Though he thought differently, Kakashi was not fully healed when Zabuza attacked. Now, Kakashi was, once again, reaching his limits. A non-Uchiha using the sharingan may have had more perks than disadvantages, but the disadvantages could be fatal.

Zabuza could hear Kakashi's ragged breathing and knew it was time to end it. Without warnings, Zabuza came rushing out of the mist and toward Kakashi, blade poised to slice Kakashi's head off. Kakashi saw the attack coming but his body had already been pushed past the point of exhaustion. Kakashi was forced to watch as the massive blade set a course for his face.

*cling*

Kakashi opened his eyes to a sight that he would rather forget. In front of him stood Anko Mitarashi, holding Zabuza's blade with two kunai.

"Ah. Seems like I get to have a little more fun. And with Anko Mitarashi, The Snake Whore Konoha, no less."

"Kakashi, get your ass up and get the fuck out of the way!" Anko said, glaring at Zabuza.

As Kakashi struggled to retreat, Zabuza started putting more and more weight on his blade, bent on crushing Anko's skull. Anko, being fairly outmatched in terms of strength, used her kunai to send the blade to her right side. The blade sliced into the ground, leaving Zubuza open for a counterattack. Anko took advantage, throwing a backhand at Zabuza with her right hand, with intentions to drive the kunai into his head. Zubuza blocked the backhand and rolled towards his sword, as Anko threw another backhand with her left.

Zabuza grabbed his sword and they both spun around to face each other. "You aren't strong enough to beat me, snake whore. Now, why don't you be a girl little girl and stand down. I may even let you be my new mistress. I need someone like you to wash my undergarments and cook my dinner."

"Sorry, I'm already taken. But you won't have to worry about clean undergarments for long, considering that you'll be dead long before you get a chance to change them."

"Taken? What fool would want a whore like you?"

"One that's a lot stronger and better looking than you. Now, if you're finished, how about we get this show started."

"You're a cocky little bitch. I'll enjoy tearing off your limbs, one by one!"

With that, the two engaged each other once again.

_Sasuke vs Haku..._

Sasuke tried desperately to escape the senbon needles, but nothing seemed to work for him. He even tried using fire jutsu on the ice mirrors, but had no success there either.

"I suggest that you withdraw from the fight, Uchiha. You are obviously no match for me. If you continue to attack, I will be force to take your life."

'No! This can't be happening to me! I am of the great Uchiha clan! I will NOT die until I get my revenge!'

As Haku threw another handful of senbon needles at Sasuke, Sasuke was able to dodge them this time. 'It seems that he has managed to unlock his sharingan during the battle. Impressive.'

'I can see it. I can see the chakra now! I've finally unlocked it! I can feel the power coursing through my veins! I feel invincible!'

_With Naruto..._

Naruto had defeated the bandits and was now watching the fight between Sasuke and Haku.

"Wow. So he finally activated his sharingan, huh?" Naruto said to himself. "He's gonna be even more arrogant than he was before. But Haku's kekkei genkai, now that is an interesting jutsu. We could definitely use someone like her."

_Sasuke vs Haku..._

Haku had planned on using her speed to try and knock the Uchiha out, instead of using the senbon needles and actually killing him by mistake, but Sasuke's newly activated sharingan prevent that. Sasuke caught Haku with a overhand right, knocking the girl to the ground.

Instead of trying to finish the girl off, Sasuke used the opening he created to warn the girl of his new found power. "Now that I've finally activated my sharingan, I suggest that YOU withdraw from this fight. In front of the sharingan, those considered genius are merely mediocre."

Haku was normally as gentle as they came, but the Uchiha pressed buttons that she didn't even know she had. At that point, she decided that she wanted the arrogant Uchiha to feel pain. "You are entirely too arrogant, Uchiha-san. For that, I've decided to take you down a few pegs. Normally I wouldn't, but I think I'll make an acception for you."

She stood up and jumped through one of her ice mirrors. "Prepare yourself, Uchiha-san."

"What's the point? I can see you now. You have already been defeated."

Haku then threw another handful of senbon needles at the young Uchiha.

"Is that all you can do?" Sasuke asked, as he jumped to the side and out of the senbon needles' path.

"Nope." Haku said from beside the Uchiha.

Sasuke had been so busy focusing on the senbon needles that he hadn't noticed Haku slip out of the ice mirror in the direction that he had jumped to. With Sasuke currently moving directly toward Haku and Haku going directly toward Sasuke, the impact of a punch would be double what a normal punch would be. As Sasuke turned his head to see where the voice had come from, he was met with a bone shattering punch to the face. Sasuke was unconscious before he even hit the ground.

_With Naruto..._

"What a dumbass." he said, shaking his head. "He probably could've won, if he wasn't so damn arrogant."

Naruto then perked up a little. "Well, hopefully that'll humble him up a little."

Naruto then started strenching himself out. "Well, I guess it's my turn now." he said.

Naruto leaped from the branch, and landed outside of the ice dome. Naruto then casually walked into the ice dome, as if he was just a tourist. "This is a nice place you have here."

"I was wondering when you were planning on coming out." Haku said.

"Well, I noticed that you were busy with the Uchiha, so I decided to wait. Besides, I couldn't pass up the chance to see the Uchiha get some of that arrogance beaten out of him."

Haku smiled at that. "Well, he is quite the arrogant one. Pity that his skills don't back up his arrogance."

"Well, if they did, he'd be the strongest shinobi in the world."

Haku had struggle to keep herself from laughing. "Well, I suppose it's time that we got on with our battle."

"Right. You do remember the terms don't you?"

_(Flashback)_

_Naruto had stayed out all night training. Sai had opted to draw, which he considered his own form of training, so that left Naruto to training by himself. After he finished training, Naruto, too exhausted to make it back to the house, had decided to sleep outside. Night soon turned to dawn and Naruto had sensed someone approaching him. _

_Once the intruder got within range, Naruto immediately knew who it was. Naruto felt a tiny bit of killing intent and was about to subdue the fake hunter-nin, but decided against it when, instead of attacking, she woke him up._

_Naruto decided to play dumb to find out more about the girl. Apparently, she was picking herbs to help a friend, which Naruto figued was Zabuza. Naruto helped her pick herbs, while they conversed about various different topics, from ramen to love. _

_"Naruto-kun, do you have any precious people?" Haku suddenly asked._

_"Of course I do. There's Sai, my Anko-chan, Hokage-sama, and a couple of other people. What about you Haku-chan?" Naruto said in his childish voice, giving the impression that he was an innocent, and somewhat clueless, kid._

_"Well, I guess I have one." Haku said, though she seemed unsure._

_"Zabuza?" Naruto said, dropping the childish voice._

_Haku immediately jumped up and grabbed a senbon needle from her sleeve, taking a defensive stance._

_"Take it easy, Haku-chan. If I wanted you dead, I would have taken advantage already."_

_"What do you want?"_

_"Simple. I want you Haku-chan."_

_Even in her defensive stance, Haku started blushing. Seeing how she had taken his words, Naruto decided to clarify._

_"What I mean is that I can sense that you are very strong for your age, and I want you to join my team and village."_

_Haku was shocked that someone would make such an offer to her, seemingly out of the blue._

_"Well, I can understand why you would want a strong ninja, but what's in it for me?"_

_"We are similiar, you and I. It's the same with my teammate and my sensei. You have been hated and manipulated by others. Like you, I'm an orphan, but my teammates serve as my family now. I only offer you a chance to have a real family. One that actually cares whether you live or die. One that will be there for you and protect you with their lives, if need be. Will you accept my invitation...nee-san?"_

_As soon as she heard the word 'nee-san', tears started streaming down Haku's face. "On one condition." Haku choked out._

_"Name it."_

_Steeling herself, Haku looked at Naruto in the eyes. "You'll have to defeat me, first. As much as I would like to go with you, I pledged my loyalty to Zabuza-sama. The only way that I will be willing to leave is if he dies or if I am not fit to protect him."_

_"Alright, nee-san. If it means freeing you of your pledge to Zabuza, then I'll kick your ass all around that bridge."_

_Haku smiled. "Then it's a deal...n-nii-san."_

_It was now Naruto's turn to smile at Haku. The two continued picking herbs and conversed about the future._

_(Flashback Ends)_

"Hai, Naruto-nii-san. I remember."

_Sai vs The Demon Brothers_

Sai was completely overwhelming the Demon Brothers, while flying out of range of their attacks. The Demon Brothers specialized in assasinations, therefore they couldn't keep up with someone so well-versed in combat.

"We have to get within range of his attacks-"one brother said. "Otherwise it'll be useless." finished the other.

After killing the last of the ink clones, one of the brother jumped high into the air. The other brother then jump on his back, using it as a springboard to get within range of Sai.

Sai had been secretly waiting for them to try this. While in the air, they were totally immobile. Sai didn't have this problem, due to the fact that he was riding on the back of a massive bird, made entirely of ink.

As the Demon Brother close in on Sai, Sai's bird shot toward the ground, only to go under and behind the airborne Demon Brother. Considering that the airborne Demon Brother didn't have enough momentum to turn around in mid-air, his back was completely exposed.

Sai jammed his sword into the Demon Brother left shoulder blade, piercing his heart in the process. The Demon Brother died before he even hit the ground.

When the other Demon Brother saw his brother's lifeless body hit the ground, he went into a fit of rage. Sai dispersed his bird and landed across from the remaining Demon Brother. One Demon Brother was barely chuunin level, but one that was ruled by rage was even lower than that. As the Demon Brother attempted to claw Sai's eyes out, Sai grabbed the clawed hand by the forearm. With one quick swipe of his blade, the Demon Brother's head rolled off, effectively killing him.

Sakura, Kiba, and Tazuna, who had been watching the entire battle, looked at Sai in disbelief. Sai noticed them staring and look at them like as if it was just another day at the office. "It's all in the reflexes." Sai said to the three, answering the unasked question of 'How the fuck did you do that?'

_Anko vs Zubuza_

Zubuza was covered in snake bites and his strength and speed had decreased dramatically, however Anko was in much worse shape. She had shallow cut all over her body and even some internal bleeding, caused by Zabuza's monsterous strength. She knew that it wouldn't be long before her injuries caught up to her and Zabuza took advantage.

"You don't look too good, snake whore."

"Funny. I was just about to say the same thing to you, you brow-less freak."

Without warning Zubuza attacked once more, driving Anko back. Anko barely had time to think, as Zabuza attack her with reckless abandon. While jumping away from a swing the would have easily separated her head from her body, Anko tripped over a rock, slamming into the ground, hard. She had twisted her ankle, which crippled the one advantage she had over Zabuza, which was her speed. She was done for, she knew it.

"Uh oh! Looks like you're luck has run out, Snake Whore of Konoha. I may just cripple you if you beg me to let you live. Come on, let me hear you beg."

'Looks like this is it for me. Sorry, Naruto, but it looks like this is where we part ways.'

Anko spit at Zabuza's feet. "The day I beg a dickless asshole like you is the day I'll kill myself!"

"Such a filthy mouth. I expect nothing less from The Snake Whore of Konoha. Now, what would be a fitting end for you. I know! First, I'll cut off all of you limbs. Then, I'll pull out every tooth in your mouth. But that's just the beginning. You'll go by a new name when I'll finished with you. You'll be known as Anko Mitarashi, The Portable Snake Whore of Konoha! I'll strap you to my back, like a backpack. And whenever I feel lonely at night, I will bring you out to _comfort_ me.

For the first time since her time with Orochimaru, Anko felt true fear. Anko was not afraid of death, but to suffer the fate Zabuza had planned for her put fear in her heart.

_Naruto vs Haku_

Haku had yet to lay a hand on Naruto. No matter what she tried, she was never fast enough to catch him. However, she had also remained untouched, though Naruto didn't seem to be going all out like she had.

Sasuke was starting to awaken from his slumber he heard a voice that he dreaded. "I'm sorry, Haku-nee-san. I was really planning on seeing all that you are capable of, but it looks like we're gonna have to cut this fight short. This fight will be decided with our next move."

'Is...is that the dobe?' Sasuke thought as he opened his eyes and saw Naruto standing in front of him. If he had the strength, he would've stabbed the blonde in the back. Instead, he was forced to assume the role of the helpless bystander.

"OK, Naruto. We'll end it with this last attack."

Haku then appeared in all of the mirrors. She went for the same tactic that work on Sasuke. Unfortunately, for her, Naruto was not Sasuke. When she threw her senbon needles, Naruto dodged the same way, although a little faster. 'Got him!' she thought, as she proceeded to cut him off the same way she had cut Sasuke off.

What Haku didn't notice was that Naruto making a strange twisting sign with his hand(see opening and closing of Naruto's seal). Just as Haku was about to get in range of Naruto, a spiral of water and wind appeared directly in front of her, spinning like a little minature hurricane. Haku tried to stop, but her momentum wouldn't allow it. Her entire body entered the spiral, but did not come out of the other side.

'WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?' thought Sasuke, still pretending to be unconscious.

Once Naruto landed, he made the strange twisting of his hand again, this time toward the ground, as if opening a pickle jar with one hand. The spiral appeared again, two feet off of the ground and parallel to it. Haku shot out of the spiral, like she went in. She smashed, face first, into the ground, knocking her out instantly.

"I'm sorry, Haku-nee-san. I'll be back to check on you in a minute."

Naruto opened another spiral and dove through it.

_Anko vs Zabuza_

Zabuza was in motion, intent on slicing Anko arm off at the shoulder. Anko closed her eyes and waited for the pain. Surprisingly, it never came. When she opened her eyes, what she saw brought tears to her eyes. Naruto was facing her, with the edge of Zabuza's sword in his palm, though some of the blade had cut an inch deep into his shoulder.

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?" Naruto yelled at Anko.

"N-Naruto? What are you talking about?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about! You were really willing to let this brow-less prick kill you?"

Anko looked away. "He was stronger than me, Naruto. I lost."

"That's not what I asked! You were just sitting there, waiting for him to kill you! I don't care if I was fighting the Shinigami himself, I would never have given up! Not when I know that I would be leaving my future wife at home, grieving over my death! Did you even think about what it would do to me if you died!" Naruto yelled, tears threatening to fall from his eyes.

"Naruto, I-" Anko began to say, but was cut off.

"So, you're the fool that has fallen in love with The Snake Whore of Konoha. Such a shame. And here I thought you had potential."

Naruto could care less what anyone thought of him, but talking about Naruto's loved ones garaunteed a quick death for anyone foolish enough to do it in front of him. It was a mistake that Zabuza would never have the chance to repeat.

Holding Zabuza's sword with his left hand, Naruto unsheathed the sword on his back with his right hand, turned and slashed. Naruto then turned backed to Anko, as Zubuza's head rolled and his body collapsed.

"Don't ever let me see you give up again, Anko-chan." Naruto said in a calm voice.

"Bravo, kid! To think that the so called The Demon the Mist would fall to a child." yelled a short man standing on the other side of the bridge, surrounded by what seemed to be mercenaries.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked.

"Me? I go by the name of Gato."

"The same Gato that has been trying to prevent this bridge from getting built?"

"The one and only! You kids have been making a lot of trouble for me. That's why I hi-" before Gato could finish, a kunai exited out of the back of Gato's skull, killing him instantly.

The mecenaries only saw Gato slump to the ground. Once they saw the hole in Gato's head, they knew that the kid had killed the man right in front of them, and none of them had even seen it. One of the shaking mercenaries spoke what the rest had been thinking already. "W-what did y-you do?" he asked in a shaky voice.

"Isn't it obvious? I killed him. With the oppressor dead, the Wave will be free to build any bridge they want. In other words, mission accomplished. That is, unless you guys feel some sort of way about me killing your employer." Naruto said.

Before anyone could say anything, Naruto directed a highly concentrated dose of killing intent at the mercenaries. Even Anko found the pressure of it hard to bare, being so close to him. The mecenaries wanted to run, but they were frozen with fear. Suddenly, an arrow landed in front of the mercenaries and Naruto stopped emitting his killing intent.

"We won't let you run over us anymore, right guys?" Inari said, backed by the cheering villagers behind him. Despite how intimidating the villagers thought they looked, they were barely even noticed by the mecenaries. Every single mecenary retreated, as if their lives depended on it. They leaped off of the bridge and swam away from the bridge as quickly as they could.

"We did it! Did you see how scared they were?" a random villager celebrated.

Naruto sweat-dropped and turned to Anko. "You'd think I'd get a little attention over here."

"Don't worry, Naruto-kun. I'll give you all the attention you want, when we get back to Konoha." said Anko.

"Really? So you're finally gonna make a man out of me, huh?"

"Yep! I seem to remember someone agreeing to help me with some of the new tort- interrogation tactics that I've been developing! That'll put some hair on your chest!" Anko smirked.

"What? Come on, Anko-chan. I was actually hoping to learn something other than torture tactics." Naruto whined.

"Oh, you will Naruto-kun. There's nothing sexier than torture. Besides, pain and ecstasy go hand and hand."

"I would have to disagree, Anko-chan. There's nothing sexy about being tortured."

"Well, when I'm done, you'll be begging for more."

'Somehow, I doubt that.' Naruto thought to himself.

_With Sasuke..._

Sakura almost fainted when she saw Sasuke in such a worn state, thinking he was dead. "NOOOOOOOOO! SASUKE-KUNNN!"

"Sakura...shut up. Your too loud." said the young Uchiha, in a weak voice.

"S-Sasuke-kun? Sasuke-kun! I knew you wouldn't die that easily! No one can defeat a Uchiha!" Sakura said, stroking the ego of the young Uchiha.

Unfortunately, for them, Sai was also there and he wasn't known for stroking egos. "I don't know about that, Sakura. It looks like he took a pretty good ass kicking today, not to mention the fact that I've kicked his ass before. And Naruto, he sent Sasuke to the hospital on his first day at the Academy. Nah, I think you're just talking out of your ass, Sakura."

Before Sasuke could say anything, Sakura came to Sasuke's defensive. "Sai! Shouldn't you be checking on your worthless 'brother', Naruto-baka!"

"Worthless? Naruto saved Sasuke, killed Zabuza, and killed Gatou, while you... wait, what exactly did you do? Besides, Naruto doesn't need help for something like this. But, maybe I should check in with him and Anko-sensei." Sai said, before using the shunshin jutsu to meet up with his 'brother' and sensei.

"Sakura. Give me one of your kunai." Sasuke said, fatigue apparent in his voice.

"S-Sasuke-kun, what do you need a kunai for?" Sakura asked.

"Unfinished business. That fake hunter-nin is still alive. And as long as she's alive, she's still a threat. I need to kill her before she's able to recover." Sasuke lied. He knew that the girl was no more a threat than Sakura was.

"I understand, Sasuke-kun. Here." Sakura said, handing Sasuke one of her unused kunai.

Sasuke struggled to get to his feet, but eventually managed to do so. He limped over to the sleeping form of Haku, kunai clutched in his hand. 'Since you have taken my pride from me, I will take something from you, Uzumaki Naruto! I'll take your precious 'nee-san' from you!' Sasuke thought, with an evil smirk on his face.

Sasuke then quickly stabbed toward the young hyouton user's jugular. The smirk on Sasuke's face quickly turned to a scowl as his kunai met with the cement structure of the bridge.

"Where the hell did she go?" yelled a confused Sakura.

Sasuke knew exactly where Haku went. He whipped his head to Naruto's direction. He was met with a glaring Naruto. Naruto then smirk at the Uchiha, wagging his finger, as if to say 'you may win some, but you just lost one'.

'What the hell is that jutsu? I'll have to talk to the council about making him teach me that jutsu. It's far too powerful for some clanless loser like him. Once I learn it, I'll be strong enough to destroy him! Then I'll come for you, Itachi!' Sasuke thought to himself.

_With Naruto..._

"Where the fuck did she come from?" asked a startled Anko.

"Don't worry about it. I brought her here to keep the Uchiha from killing her." answered Naruto.

"Okay. Now, tell me how the fuck you did it?"

"Anko-sensei, maybe we should talk about this at a later time. We have to take care of the injuried, which is just about everyone besides us and Sakura." said Sai.

"That damn girl really is useless." Anko said, rolliing her eyes.

"Instead of taking Tazuna to a safe place, she actually stood in front of him with a kunai. If anyone had attacked from behind, they both would've been dead. Luckily, the enemy was already occupied. There's a reason why we only do that when there are two other teammates there."

"Well, she must have alligator blood or something because she managed to get through this while ordeal unscathed." said Sai.

"Alright, let help the others. Naruto, I want you to tie that girl up." said Anko.

"That's not gonna happen."

"And why the hell not?" asked Anko.

"Because she's coming back to Konoha with us." Naruto answered.

"You mind repeating that." Anko said, her anger visibly growing.

"Calm down, Anko-chan. I met her while I was training. Because she pledged her loyalty to Zabuza, she was not able to just leave with us. The only two ways for her to be free of her pledge was for her to become useless to Zabuza or for Zabuza to die, so me and her made a deal. If I beat her, she would be on our team. Not only did I beat her, I also killed Zabuza. So she's with us now."

"You can't be naive enough to believe that it will be that simple. Besides, why go so far for this girl?"

"Don't worry about Konoha. I think it's time that I shake things up around there anyway. Besides, with the Uchiha witnessing my jutsu, it was going to start getting a little hectic anyway. As far as why I'm willing to go this far for someone else, it's the same reason that I'm willing to go so far for you and Sai. It's because she is similiar to me, and you as well. You'll understand when she wakes up."

"Well, she is kinda cute. Maybe I'll hit her with a little bit of the old charm that the women can't seem to get enough of." said Sai

"In other words, you plan on insulting her and making her hate you for life?" asked Anko.

"More or less." said Naruto.

**A/N:**There you go. Again, sorry for the delay. The next chapter will be the beginning of the chuunin exam and the explanation of Naruto's jutsu. Thanks for reading.


	7. The Chuunin Exams

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto/Big Trouble in Little China nor any characters or abilities created by Masashi Kishimoto or John Carpenter.

**Date:** 07/08/10

**Big Trouble in Little Konoha**

_Chapter 7: The Chunnin Exams_

Team 7 stayed in the Wave for a little over a week, healing, while Team Anko and their newest addition, Haku, left a couple of days earlier, directly after the bridge was completed. Since Naruto took care of the threat, Kakashi insisted that he and his team would be alright.

Haku's induction into Konoha's shinobi ranks had gone smoothly, mostly due to Naruto's relationship with the old Hokage, but things were bound to get complicated once Team 7 returned. Sasuke had already intended on getting the council to force Naruto to teach him his spiral jutsu but, after finding out that the Wave decided to name the bridge 'The Great Naruto Bridge', in honor of Naruto, Sasuke decided that taking his jutsu wasn't enough. He decided that he would tell the council that Haku was intending on killing him during the mission. The council wouldn't stand for anyone attempting to kill the last Uchiha, no matter what the circumstances were.

And so Naruto found himself standing beside the Sandaime Hokage and in front of the entire council. Little did Sasuke know, Naruto had prepared for this prior to even leaving the Wave.

"We have requested your presence due to some disturbing reports that we received from your mission in the Wave. It has come to our attention that you, Uzumaki-san, have acquired some formidable jutsu in the Wave. We demand to know all aspects of said jutsu. We also demand that you teach the last Uchiha this jutsu. It is imperative that Uchiha Sasuke gains power. Someone with his lineage is destined to become Hokage. To ensure that Konoha remains the strongest of the five great nations, we must ensure that the future Hokage becomes as strong as possible." said Koharu.

Just as Naruto was about to object, Sarutobi placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder, in an attempt to calm the boy. Before Naruto could speak, Koharu spoke again.

"We also have concerns about this Haku girl. We were also informed that she attacked young Sasuke Uchiha, in an attempt to assasinate him. We can not allow someone such as her to join our village, let alone join the ranks of Konoha shinobi. After taking a vote, we have decided that she should have her Konoha citizenship revoked and that she will be considered a S-Rank criminal. Now, if there is nothing else to discuss-"

"Oh, but there is something else to discuss. First of all, Haku's citizenship will not be revoked by the likes of you people!"

"What did you say, brat?" Tsume yelled.

"You heard exactly what I said, Tsume-san."

"That's Tsume-sama to you, brat!"

"I beg to differ."

"Hokage-sama, surely you won't let this boy show such disrespect to his superiors! I demand that he be dealt with immediately!" said the Hyuuga head, Hiashi Hyuuga.

"Superiors? In what way? If you think that you are physically superior to me, then I welcome any challenger after this meeting has concluded. If you defeat me in a spar, I will gladly consider you my superior. You are only superior to me in rank, as far as I can tell."

"You forget yourself, boy." Hiashi spat. "Even with your _condition_, you are far from a match for anyone in this room. Also, we are all superior to you in standing, as well as rank. You are speaking to the clan heads of Konoha. A clanless orphan, like you, has no political standing whatsoever."

"You see, that where you're wrong, Hyuuga-_san_. Were you so ignorant to believe that the name Uzumaki came from nowhere? I did a little research and apparently I am the sole survivor of the Uzumaki Clan, which in turn, makes me the head of the Uzumaki Clan."

"Your loser clan was not of Konoha. The Uzumaki Clan were a part of the Whirlpool Country, not the Fire Country. Your standing in a nonexistent country has no bearings here, de-…boy." said Haruno Kira.

"First of all, Haruno-san, my name is Naruto, not 'boy'. Secondly, you should let me finish before you go interrupting me, especially since you are not of a ninja clan, hence have no right to speak on shinobi matter. Futhermore, the Uzumaki Clan were said to be distant relatives to the Senju. Are you, someone of no shinobi descent, implying that the Uzumaki Clan were not just as, if not moreso, noble than that of any clan in this country. If so, then maybe Konoha should remove my clans' insignia from their chuunin and jounin vest."

The pink haired council member looked as if she wanted to speak, but she settled for glaring at the blond genin instead.

"I didn't think so. Now, like I was saying, the Uzumaki Clan was my mother's clan. You are correct to say that a foreign clan has no bearing in Konoha, even if this country wears said clans' insignia. However, haven't you ever asked yourselves why an Uzumaki Clan member was living in Konoha in the first place?"

All of the clan heads looked at each other, trying to figure out where the young blonde was going with this. Sarutobi visibly tensed. 'He couldn't possibly know about that, could he?' he thought to himself.

"Yes, my mother had been secretly married to one of the clan heads of Konoha. His name? Namikaze Minato, Yondaime Hokage and Yellow Flash of Konoha."

The entire room was in an uproar, some calling for Naruto's blood. "Bullshit! How dare you mock the name of our late Yondaime Hokage? Hokage-sama, I demand that he be brought up on charges and executed for his crimes today!" yelled Haruno Kira, who was backed up by the rest of the council, excluding the Amikichi head, the Nara head, Danzo, and the Hokage himself.

"I welcome any of you to try. I'll gladly show you all just how _weak_ I am." Naruto said, in an emotionless voice.

Taking a long puff from his pipe, Sarutobi finally decided to speak. "What crimes do you speak of, Haruno-san?"

"Are you deaf? This...boy just claimed to be the son of our late Yondaime Hokage! As if the Yondaime would spawn such filth!"

"You will hold your tongue, Haruno! Naruto has made no false statements here today. Though I have no clue as to how he obtained this information, Naruto is indeed the sole heir of, both, the Uzumaki Clan and the Namikaze Clan. I should know, since I was the one to marry Kushina and Minato. We have medical records and wills confirming this, not to mention that Danzo knew of their wedding as well."

Everyone looked to Danzo for confirmation. "It is as the Hokage said. Young Uzumaki-san is the offspring of Uzumaki Kushina and Namikaze Namikaze. Naruto was given his mother's last name because the enemies of the 'Yellow Flash of Konoha' would not hesitate to assasinate him if they had the chance."

"Now that my lineage has been confirmed, I would like to take this time to announce the restoration of my clan." Naruto said, smirking.

"So you intend on restoring the Namikaze Clan?" asked Sarutobi.

"No. I plan on making it far better. I hereby claim the title of clan head of the Namikaze Clan. And as such, I have the right to accept whomever I have deemed worthy to become one of my clan members. Futhermore, I have decided to accept Sai and Haku into the Namikaze Clan. From now on, they will be known as Namikaze Sai and Namikaze Haku. And, because they are a part of my clan, they can not be subject to the council's banishment."

"What? Hokage-sama, this is madness!" said Koharu.

"That may be, but he has every right to do as he pleases with his clan. Speaking of which, I assume that you will be change your surname to Uzumaki-Namikaze, correct?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama. While I am more than happy to carry my father's name, I am just as proud to be of the Uzumaki Clan. Therefore, I will carry both names."

The Sandaime nodded at Naruto, showing his approval of Naruto's decision.

"Fine! But the boy must still hand over his jutsu and teach the last Uchiha!" said Haruno Kira.

"That's not gonna happen. You should really read up on clan affairs more, if you're going to keep interfering in them. My jutsu is a clan jutsu now. That means that I don't have to show the Uchiha shit. Unless they are clan members of the Uzumaki-Namikaze Clan and I deem them worthy of such knowledge, I don't have to share any of my techniques with anyone. And since the Uchiha will never be of my clan, he will never learn my jutsu. Besides, it would be impossible for him to learn anyway."

"And why is that, Naruto-san?" asked Danzo, now interested in this new jutsu of Naruto's.

"Simple. It's because my spiral jutsu is unique to me and only me. It can not be learned or copied, even with the sharingan."

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but you make it sound as if you have developed some sort of kekkei genkai." asked the Hyuuga Clan head.

"Well, I wouldn't have put it that way, mostly because this village gets a hard-on at the mere mention of one, but I guess it can be considered a kekkei genkai."

Not even the Hokage could hide his shock. "Naruto! What is this ability and when did you learn that you could do it?"

"Well, Hokage-sama, I learned of this ability prior to coming back to Konoha."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Every ninja has his secret."

"Fair enough. What does it do?"

"How about I just show you?" Naruto asked, receiving a nod from the Hokage.

Twisting both his hands, two 6 ft. spirals, made of what appeared to be a mixture of water and wind, appeared on both sides of Naruto. Naruto then stuck his arm into one of the spiral and, to the suprise of all present, his arm came out of the other spiral.

"Incredible!" Sarutobi said, eyes budging out of his sockets.

"I still learning to master it, but I can probably make one anywhere inside of the village but that's about it right now. I'm still working on increasing the range and speed of this jutsu." Naruto said, cancelling the jutsu.

"For you to have mastered this jutsu to this level, by yourself, is simply amazing. I'm very proud of you, Naruto. Now, if no one has anything else to say, I will dismiss young Naruto. Naruto, come see me tomorrow, at noon. I'll give you your inheritance and have you sign some paperwork regarding your clan."

"Hai, Hokage-sama. I only have one last thing to speak with you about. I'm planning on getting married and I wanted to know if you would honor me by performing the ceremony, just like you did for my parent? I would also need the paperwork for something like that."

"But you're still so young, Naruto. I know that building a clan is important to you, but you shouldn't rush something like this."

"Don't worry about that, Hokage-sama. I don't plan on getting married until after I make chuunin. Besides, we are shinobi. Tomorrow is never garaunteed for those in our profession. I would die with a smile on my face, knowing that the one I love carries my child and the future of my clan."

'He's grown so fast. It's like he's already a man.' Sarutobi thought to himself, before he spoke again. "If you don't mind, may I ask who you plan to marry?"

"Of course. The one that I plan to marry is Mitarashi Anko."

"Hmmm. Though there is quite a significant age difference, I glad that you both care for each other in such a way. I placed you with her because I knew that you both have lived similiar lives. I guess it's not so suprising to find out that you two have bonded in such a way."

"Yes. And as far as the age difference, we decided that we shouldn't try to hide the way we feel about each other just because of what people might say. Besides, how can the villagers possibly treat us any worse than they already have?"

Almost every member of the council winced at Naruto's words. They had purposely made Naruto's life a living hell, while spitting on the grave of one of Konoha's most legendary heroes.

"You are indeed wise well beyond your years, Naruto. Well, I for one, approve of your decision, Naruto. And, for what it's worth, I apologize for all that you and Anko-san have gone through, due to the ignorance of some of the villagers." Sarutobi said, while glaring at the members that had been known to discriminate against Naruto and Anko. "If that is all, you are dismissed."

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

As Naruto was walking out of the council chamber, he heard the Haruno Kira make a remark. "How fitting that he chose the 'Snake Whore of Konoha' to be his wife!" she whispered…or tried to whisper. Apparently, strong vocal cords ran in the family.

"Did you have something that you wanted to say, Haruno-san? I can always pass the messege to Anko-chan. I'm sure that she would love to hear what you have to say."

With that, he left the council chambers, leaving a frightened Haruno Kira in his wake.

Ten minutes later...

Naruto was on his way to find Anko, Sai, and Haku, to tell them the good news, when he heard the screams of a familiar pink haired banshee. Naruto arrived to a scene of an Academy student being roughed up by a black clad Sand nin with face paint. Sakura screamed at the foreign nin, but hadn't lifted a finger to help the boy.

"What's going on here?" asked Naruto.

"Mind your business, kid. This is between me and this little retarded kid, with the diaper on his head." said the black clad sand nin, with the face paint.

"Let...let go of me! I already apologized!" said the Sandaime's grandson, Konohamaru.

"Yeah, I heard that little half-assed apology. Now, I want you to bow and do it the right way!"

"Leave him alone, you bully!" Sakura screamed.

"You shut up, you pink haired slut, unless you want to join him!"

"Kankuro. We don't have time for this. Leave the kid alone." said a dirty blond haired Sand nin, standing behind the one known as Kankuro.

"Relax, Temari. We have plenty of time. Besides, someone needs to show this trash some respect." Kankuro said, lifting Konohamaru to eye level.

"Whatever. I'm not a part of this." said Temari.

"Don't just stand there, Naruto-baka! Do something!" Sakura screamed at Naruto.

"Are your legs broken, Sakura?" Naruto asked.

Sakura looked at Naruto in confusion. "No, baka! Can't you see me standing here, you idiot." Sakura replied.

"Well, if your legs aren't broken, why haven't you tried to free him yourself?" asked Naruto.

Sakura seemed as if she wanted to reply, but had no explanation to give.

"Exactly. I shouldn't have to fight this weakling because of your own weakness. Instead of always looking for someone to do something for you, maybe you should try to actually get strong enough to handle things on your own." Naruto said, before being interrupted by Kankuro.

"Who the hell are you calling weak, trash!"

Ignoring Kankuro, Naruto continued speaking to Sakura. "So far, you've been nothing but a nuisance on the battlefield; a foreign object of no use. Maybe this will serve as an example as to why it is so important to train. If you can't even defeat this guy, what will happen when you encounter someone that's actually strong?"

Sakura glared at Naruto and was about to reply but, before she could retort, Kankuro beat her to it.

"That's it! Your gonna die!" Kankuro yelled.

Not a second after making his declaration, the hand that was holding Konohamaru was hit by a rock. Kankuro instinctively released his grip on the boy. Kankuro looked up at Naruto, figuring that the boy had somehow cause it, however he was shocked to see that Konohamaru was standing behind Naruto. Temari gasped at the blond kid's speed.

'That was incredible! I didn't even see him move!'

"For someone that acts so high and mighty, you sure are a cowardly fighter. Throwing rocks? Is that what they teach you in this pathetic village of yours? It seems that Konoha isn't the village it used to be." Kankuro said, taking something off of his back.

"I'm afraid that you are mistaken. First of all, a ninja uses whatever resources that are available to him/her, including rocks. Besides, what's the point of using jutsu when you can't even handle a rock? And secondly, I didn't throw the rock, baka."

Before anyone else could speak, Sasuke made his presence known, sitting on a branch with another rock in his hand. "What are you Sand losers doing in our village?" Sasuke said in an arrogant tone.

"What! Come down here and say that, pussy!"

"Kankuro! That's enough! We've caused enough trouble and wasted enough time!" yelled Temari, authority laced in her voice.

"You should listen to her. Your red haired friend doesn't seem to appreciate the trouble you've been causing around here."

Naruto could see fear in both the Sand nin's eyes with the mention of the red haired Sand nin.

"Kankuro, stand down. You're an embarassment." the red haired boy said, in an emotionless tone.

Sasuke whipped around to see the boy directly above him, using chakra to hang upside down. 'How the hell did he sneak up on me without me noticing? He could've easily taken my life, if he chose to.' Sasuke thought.

In a swirl of sand, the boy disappeared, reappearing in front of a frightened Kankuro. "Gaara, I was just playing around. I-"

"Shut up. I'll kill you." Gaara said to the frightened Sand nin.

Naruto decided to interject. "Kill? Don't you think that's a little excessive? I don't think being a dick/bitch should be punishable by death." he said. Naruto then looked at Sasuke, "Well, then again..."

"What is your name?" Gaara asked Naruto.

"Now, now. Don't be rude. It's polite to give your name before you ask for mine, Gaara."

Shocked, Gaara asked "H-how did you know my name?"

"The guy wearing the pajamas said your name. Anyway, my name is Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto, but you can call me Naruto." Naruto said.

"Naruto-baka, that's not your name! Why'd you add the Namikaze?" Sakura asked.

"Actually, it is my name as of today. Namikaze is my father's last name, Uzumaki is my mother's. Since they're both dead, I decided to carry both of their surnames. Is that okay with you, Sakura?" Naruto said. Not waiting for her to respond, Naruto turned back to Gaara. "See? If being a dick or bitch was punishable by death, I'd have to kill the majority of this village."

Gaara let a small chuckle escape his lips, to the amazement of the other to Sand nin. "I like you Naruto. I hope we meet again."

"Oh, I'm sure we will, Gaara. I'm sure we will." Naruto said.

Before Gaara could leave, Sakura called out to the Sand nin. "Hey! You're Sand nin aren't you?"

Naruto rolled his eyes. 'It took her that long to realize that?' he thought to himself.

"Yes." was Gaara's only reply.

"Mind telling us what you're doing in Konoha?" Sakura asked, gaining confidence with the presence of her crush, Sasuke.

"Are you retarded or something?" Naruto asked for the Sand nin. "It's obvious that they're here for the chuunin exams taking place in a couple of days."

"Correct, Naruto. I trust that I'll see you there as well?" asked Gaara.

"Of course. I told you we'll meet again, didn't I?"

Smirking at Naruto, Gaara turned and began his departure, followed by the other two Sand nin.

Upset about not being acknowledge by the red haired Sand nin, Sasuke turned his anger toward Naruto.

"So, you finally figured out who your parents are. Why bother changing your last name? It's clear that they abandoned you. And who could blame them? Even if they were low class, I'm sure that they wouldn't have wanted a loser like you as their son." Sasuke said, attempting to get Naruto a little riled up.

Unfortunately, he did not get the desired effect that he wished for.

Smirking, Naruto replied "My parents died fighting the Kyuubi and protecting the village. How did your parents die again, Sasuke? Oh, that's right. Your brother slaughtered his own family, sparing his little brother; probably because he thought you were far too weak to kill."

Naruto successfully turned Sasuke's plan around, if the killing intent coming from Sasuke was any indication. Sasuke was about to attack, until Naruto continued.

"As far as my parents being low class, I find that ironic, considering that your father probably took orders from mine." Naruto added.

Sasuke went from glaring at Naruto, to holding his sides, laughing in the most obnoxious way he could muster. "You think that your loser father was higher in rank than my father!" Sasuke said, in amusement. "My father was head of the Konoha Military Police! No one, short of the Hokage himself, gave orders to my father! Least of all, not some no name clown like your father!" Sasuke spat.

"Yeah, Naruto-baka! Your loser parents shouldn't even be mentioned in the same breath as anyone from the Uchiha clan!" Sakura yelled.

Naruto smiled at Sasuke, then proceeded to walk away. Before leaving, he addressed Sasuke once more. "Well, I guess I must be doing pretty good for a loser, to have a jutsu that not even the last of the 'mighty Uchiha clan' can obtain, right Sasuke?"

"Don't be so sure, loser. I've already taken care of that little problem. As we speak, the council is probably making an order for you to hand over that jutsu to me. It's one of the perks of being from one of the more high class clans of Konoha, something you wouldn't know anything about, trash."

"Ah, yes. I actually just left that council meeting. They were also planning on getting rid of Haku. Fortunately, I had already planned for this prior to even returning back from the Wave and had all of that taken care of. So, no, Haku will not be leaving." Naruto said.

"I could give a shit about that ice bitch, as long as I get that jutsu of yours. How does it feel to know that I will be given the jutsu that you put all that work into completing?" Sasuke asked, smirking arrogantly.

"I wouldn't know." Naruto said. "I don't know because of two reasons. The first being that my jutsu isn't even complete. The second being that I will not be giving you my jutsu." Naruto said, with his own smirk.

"I hope that you aren't trying to disobey the order of the council, Naruto-baka! Besides, Sasuke deserves that jutsu a lot more than you do!" yelled Sakura.

"Oh? I was unaware that Sasuke created my jutsu." Naruto retorted. "As for the council, why don't you ask your council members, since I'm sure that you two are familiar with them."

Using his jutsu, pouring salt in Sasuke's wounded pride, Naruto smiled and walked through the spiral; leaving the two glaring genin behind.

Sasuke stared at the spot that Naruto had occupied, thinking to himself. 'Why was he smiling? Was he trying to bluff me? No...there would be no meaning in that. I should go see Koharu and Homura. They'll know what's going on here.'

"Sakura, go find your mom and ask her what went on at that meeting. I have a feeling that something big just happened."

"What do you mean, Sasuke?"

"Don't be stupid. Did you see that smile on his face? He didn't seem to have a care in the world. Something's not right with that." Sasuke said, taking off toward the Uchiha compound, where Homaru and Koharu were raising him.

_At Naruto's apartment..._

Anko was sitting at Naruto's kitchen table, eating dango, while Sai was sitting on the couch, drawing.

"Where the hell is he? I'm almost out of dango and I'm starting to get a little fucking bored." said Anko.

"Calm down. I'm sure he'll be back from whereever the hell he went to, then we can do a mission or something." said Sai, trying to keep Anko calm.

"Well, if he doesn't come back soon, you, me, and Haku are gonna do some training instead." Anko said.

"Hell no! I refused to do your interrogation and torture training when your like this. Normally, it wouldn't be a problem because Naruto ends up taking the worst of it. But, with Naruto gone, I can only assume, by process of elimination, that I'll be volunteered for that spot." Sai said.

Seeing that Anko didn't respond, Sai concluded that his assumption was right. "See? You really were planning on making me your test dummy! Well, forget it!"

At that point, they heard the door open. Haku stepped through the door, prompting Sai to straighten up and Anko to deflate.

"Haku, you're a little early aren't you. I thought you said that you wouldn't be back from your session with Ibiki until a little later on." Anko said.

"She just can't get enough of me." Sai said, arrogantly.

"You wish." Haku said to Sai, before addressing Anko. "No, apparently there was this big ruckus about some kid being some kind of important legacy or something like that. Anyway, Ibiki was asked to gather the proper information to confirm it. He let me go for the rest of the day, saying that he had a long day ahead of him."

"A legacy, huh? Great. That's just what we need, another snot-nosed, arrogant, little bastard; like that Uchiha prick. Did you happen to get the kid's name? If I get bored, I could always humble the little shit stain up." said Anko.

"No. Ibiki was pretty detemined to keep his name a secret."

"Keep whose name a secret?" asked Naruto, from the kitchen.

"Some little pussy that's supposed to be some kind of legacy." Anko said. She snapped her head to the kitchen, finally noticing that Naruto had arrived.

"How long have you been here?" Sai asked.

"Not long. I just came from meeting some of the competition for this year's chuunin exam."

"How tough do they look?" asked Haku.

"We shouldn't have much trouble, from what I've seen. However, there is this Sand nin named Gaara that seems to be pretty strong. Hopefully, I'll get to face him soon."

"So you mean to tell me that you were gone all that time, scoping out the competition?" Anko said, anger rising again.

"Take it easy, Anko-chan. I had a meeting with the council today."

"That's right! Kakashi's team was supposed to be arriving from the Wave not too long ago. So what was the meeting about?" asked Anko.

"Well, like I suspected, Sasuke tried to get his hands on my jutsu and tried to get Haku expelled from the village."

"That little punk! I'll kill him!" Sai said, jumping up from his spot on the couch. Unseen to anyone in the room, Haku blushed at the thought of Sai defending her honor.

"Calm down, Sai. I've taken care of it."

"How?" Sai asked, still a little pissed off.

"Well, you know that 'little pussy' that's supposed to be some kind of legacy?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah, what about him?" asked Anko.

"Well...you're looking at him." Naruto replied.

The room had fallen deathly silent. Everyone's jaws hit the floor when Naruto dropped the news. After what seemed like hours, though only a few minutes had passed, Anko broke the silence.

"What the hell are you playing at? I thought that you never met your parents. How could you possibly be a legacy?" she asked.

"Well, that's simple. I lied. I've known about my parents for years now."

"Bullshit. Why hold that kind of information back?"

"Well, there were circumstances that prevented me from revealing that sort of information. You see, my parents had many, _many_ enemies. If they knew about my existence, they would try to kill me every chance they got. The Hokage realized this as well, which is why he withheld it from me."

"So what changed?" asked Haku.

"They were planning on taking a member of my new family away from me. I refuse to stand for that, so I decided to take up my rightful role as clan head."

"How does that help Haku?" asked Sai.

"Well, as head of the clan, I have the right to accept anyone I deem worthy to be a member of said clan, with their acceptance of course."

"Smart move, Naruto. So in accepting her into your clan, the council has no right to expel her or take your jutsu, since they're both now considered clan affairs. Genius." said Sai.

"Yeah, I thought so too." Naruto said to Sai, before tuning to Haku. "Starting today, you will be known as Namikaze Haku." Turning back to Sai, he said "And you will be known as Namikaze Sai."

Anko, although feeling left out, congratulated the two. "Congratulation, guys. That's great news."

"Yeah. And not only that, but I also asked the Hokage to perform our wedding ceremony, like he did with my parents." said Naruto.

"What? You told him about us! Are you crazy! He probably thinks I'm some-"

"He gave us his blessing. He wasn't even too surprised when I told him. He even told me that he placed me with you because of how similiar we are. He was happy for us."

"I don't know if I'm ready for marriage, Naruto. It seems like we're moving too fast."

"There's no rush. Take all the time you need. As of now, I'm completely contempt with our relationship."

"Thank you, Naruto-kun."

"There's nothing to thank me about. I knew that I loved you long before I came back to this village, so I've had a long time to think about everything. But for you, this is fairly new."

"So you remembered then, huh?" Anko said, looking away.

"How could I forget?" said Naruto.

_Flashback..._

_"String that piece of shit up." said the leader of the mob of civilians. The leader's face and body was completely covered in a black cloak, masking any identifying features._

_Following the orders of the leader, three of the civilians grabbed a bleeding, broken, and unconscious Naruto; while a fourth put the noose over the young child's head. Throwing the end over a branch, they began to pull until Naruto was suspended in the air._

_As soon as Naruto's air was cut off, his eyes shot open. Naruto tried, with all his might, to free himself from the noose; with no luck. He looked at the mob with pleading eyes; eyes that begged for someone to help him. Sadly, the mob held no form of sympathy for him._

_As Naruto felt his body convulsing, the leader spoke to him. "How does it feel, Demon? How does it feel to know that you are helpless? That, no matter what you do, you can not stop the pain. Maybe, in death, you'll know how we feel everyday of our lives because of you! Maybe your death will relieve us of our pain! We have no sympathy for a filthy demon like you!"_

_Naruto was start to drift out of consciousness, once again. As tears rolled from his eyes from the confusion of why he was being punished, his eyes started to glaze over; a sure sign that his end was near__._

_*thunk*_

_"What the hell?" the leader said, as Naruto fell to the ground._

_"Who the hell cut him dowm?" said the leader._

_"I did." said a much younger Anko._

_The civilians turned to see Anko glaring at them with barely restrained anger. _

_"I suggest you leave this place right now, little girl. You reputation is strained as it is. Any more interruption from you and I can assure you that we will make your life a living hell." said the leader._

_"No, I suggest you leave, or you won't have a life." Anko said, as two giant snakes appeared next to her._

_Seeing that they were no match for a trained shinobi, especially one trained by one of the Sannin, the leader was forced to retreat. But before leaving, the leader turned to Anko._

_"Fine. But from this day forth, you'll be known as 'The Snake Whore of Konoha'. You will be known throughout the world as such. You will be seen as a punchline among shinobi." the leader said, before leaving._

_Once the leader was out of sight, Anko rushed to Naruto. "Hey! Hey! Are you okay?" she asked Naruto, but got no response. Naruto just stared at her with glossy eyes, unresponsive._

_'Shit! I've gotta get him to the hospital!' she thought to herself._

_She then picked the young blond up and sprinted toward the hospital. The entire trip over to the hospital, Naruto stared up at her with the same glossy eyes, still unresponsive._

_Once she arrived at the hospital, she rushed to the front desk. She began to frantically relay the story of what happened to the nurse. Then nurse looked at the boy, then went back to painting her nails, as if she hadn't heard Anko._

_Anko was furious with the nurse. "Hey, you bitch! Did you hear me? I said this kid needs help!" she said._

_"Kid? Where? All I see is that demon." the nurse said._

_That was it for Anko. She suddenly became eerily calm. "If you don't get this boy some help immediately, I can assure you the you'll be wishing for death when I'm finished with you. First, I'll pull those pretty little fingernails off, one by one. Then your fingers will go, then your hand, and so on and so forth. If any happens to him, I'll be waiting for you once you get off of work. I'll stalk you until I am sure that you are alone. Not even Kami himself will be able to save you from what I will do to you if this boy dies. Do you understand me?"_

_The nurse just nodded her head frantically, fearing for her life. She then called the doctors to take the boy away. Anko kept her glare on the nurse until she noticed that Naruto had already been taken away._

_Looking down the hallway, she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that the doctors were rushing Narutoo down the hall, to work on his injurues. Her body suddenly stiffened when she noticed that the glossy eyed Naruto was still staring at her. As the doctors turned the corner, with Naruto in tow, Anko walked out of the hospital._

_'Was he staring at me? Nah. He was just unconscious. There's no way that he would recover that fast.'_

_End of Flashback..._

"I thought you were unconscious, or in shock." said Anko.

"Maybe I was, but I guess I was still subconsciously watching. Either way, thank you for what you did for me. I owe you my life."

"What the hell are you guys talking about?" asked Sai.

"Nothing. Just talking about the first time I met Anko-chan." Naruto smiled.

"Well, back to council meeting. You mean to tell me that they just let you become the head of a clan?"

"Basically. Technically, I'm the last member of two clan, both with strong history in Konoha. But only one of them is actually a clan of Konoha. The Uzumaki clan were to the Whirlpool country what the Senju clan were to the Fire Country. We even had an alliance with the Senju since the founding of Konoha, since we're distant relatives to the Senju."

"Okay. One more thing. Why the hell were you born in the Fire Country if you have your own country? I understand that your father was probably a Konoha shinobi, but if Konoha had an alliance with your mom's village, why'd she stay in Konoha?" asked Sai, interested in learning Naruto's origin.

"Well, my dad couldn't just leave up and leave Konoha. He had too many responsibilities in here. It would've been impossible for him to leave."

"Impossible? Naruto, I'm sure your father was a great man, but Konoha would have been alright if he had decided to leave." she Anko.

"Really? Hmmm. I don't think Konoha would survive long without a Hokage." Naruto said, waiting for the reaction that he was going for.

"Well, that goes without saying but what does that have to do with anything?" Anko asked.

Naruto deadpanned at Anko, but then realised that none of them had figured it out.

"Okay, dumbing it down even further. What was the Yondaime Hokage's name?"

"Namikaze Minato. Everyone knows that, Naruto-nii-san." Haku answered, surprising everyone in the room. Seeing their shock Haku explained. "The Yondaime Hokage is pretty infamous. There hasn't been a country that I've been to that has been ignorant of the Yondaime Hokage. Hell, most shinobi villages base their training regimen on the abilities that he was said to have possessed."

"Okay. Good, Haku-nee-san. Now, what is your new name?" Naruto.

"Nami-ka-ze Ha-..." she said before her jaw hit the ground.

"NO SHIT! YOU'RE THE YONDAIME HOKAGE"S FUCKING SON!" yelled Sai.

"Holy shit! I bagged myself the son of the baddest motherfucking Hokage to ever live! Oh, I'll be the envy of every bitch in Konoha when they find out about this!" said Anko, squealling like a little school-girl.

"Well, if I know that banshee, Haruno Kira, it'll be all over the village by tomorrow morning." said Naruto.

"Haruno? Ohhhhhh! Naruto, you gotta tell me her reaction! I know she was soooooo pissed off when you dropped that bomb on her ass! I wish I could've seen her face!" said Anko.

"Yeah, she was pretty pissed...and I enjoyed every second of it." Naruto said, smiling widely. In an instant, Naruto became serious again. "Okay, guys. It's time to stop playing around and to start training for the exams."

"Right!" Haku and Sai said in unison.

"And I know just where to start!" said Anko, excitedly.

All the other occupants of the room paled, while Anko smiled devilishly.

Three hours later...

Team Anko, which were now known as The Rejects throughout Konoha, stood across Team 7, with Anko sitting on the stump of a tree.

"You remember our agreement, right Kakashi?" asked Anko.

"Hai. Just remember that you are not to interfere with our fight."

"There's no need. My students are more than enough to handle you and your team."

Sasuke activated his Sharingan and glared evilly at Naruto. "You ready to be embarassed, Dobe?" Sasuke was still pissed that he was denied Naruto's jutsu. He had tried talking to Koharu and Homura, but that had proved to be a waste of time. Since it hadn't been officially confirmed, they decided not to revealed Naruto's lineage yet.

Ignoring Sasuke, Naruto spoke to his team. "Haku, you handle the banshee and the mutt. Sai, you handle the emo Uchiha. I'll handle the one-eyed scarecrow."

"You afraid to fight me, Naruto?" asked Sasuke.

Not even bothering to take his eyes off of Sai, Naruto spoke in an uncaring tone. "You are far too weak for me to be afraid of, especially when Kakashi is the only real threat on your team." Naruto said, with Kiba growling at the boy and Sasuke glaring. Ignoring both, Naruto continue speaking to the last Uchiha. "Besides, I've beaten you before, easily. Do you really think that your underdeveloped eyes will help you defeat me? Not to mention the fact that you won't even be able to copy any of our jutsu."

"And why is that?"

"Because you don't have the skill, chakra, or chakra control to use them correctly. You may be able to understand how they are done, but you will never be able to do them. Not even Kakashi would be able to do them."

"I think you're getting a little too overconfident, Naruto. I have years of experience over you. You shouldn't underestimate me." chimed Kakashi.

"Your experience over me is debatable. I won't bore you with the details, but let's just say that I've use a rather interesting form of training with staggering results."

"What's that supposed to mean, dobe?" Sasuke asked, curious about the training that could be capable of giving him even more power.

"It doesn't really matter, considering that I'm that only one in this village capable of doing it, thanks to a special seal of mine. I will say this though, not even the sharingan can match it in terms of learning and becoming stronger and more experienced."

"Show it to me." Sasuke demanded.

"Tell you what, you guys defeat us and I'll be more than happy to show you, though it would be useless to you."

"If a loser like you can do it, than Sasuke-kun will be able to do even better, Naruto-baka!" screeched the pink haired banshee.

"Says the weakest one on the team. How about you just sit with Anko-sensei, and let the real shinobi fight, fangirl?" said Sai.

Before Sakura could retort, Naruto spoke. "It would be like trying to do a high-level jutsu with a low chakra level, like a first year academy student trying to pull off an S-class jutsu."

"And what makes you so special, you little blond loser!" yelled Kiba.

"I don't know, Kiba. Maybe we should ask Hinata." Naruto retorted.

Kiba sprinted toward Naruto, with bloodlust in his eyes, only to be stopped by Kakashi. "Kiba! Calm down! You lose your cool too easily. Can't you see that he wants you to rush in. We need you to be thinking rationally, Kiba." Kakashi said, never taking his eyes off of Naruto.

"You really oughta train him better. To have an untrained mutt out here attacking people… I'm really disappointed in you for not taking better care of your pet…Akamaru." Naruto said, looking disappointed at Akamaru, as Akamaru looked away in shame.

All of Team Anko snickered, while Kiba had to bite his hand to keep from going into a fit of rage. "OK, that's enough playing around. Are you guys ready to actually start?" Anko asked.

"We're ready." Said Naruto.

"Ready." Said Kakashi.

"Begin!" Anko shouted.

With that, everyone scattered to their own section of the training ground, and engaged their opponent.

_Kiba and Sakura vs Haku_

Kiba immediately dashed toward Haku, with Akamaru sitting to the side, and engaged her in a battle of taijutsu. Sakura stayed to the side, with Akamaru, and waited for Kiba to create an opening that she could take advantage of.

Unfortunately, for Kiba, Haku seemed to be superior to him in taijutsu. Every move he threw at her was blocked or evaded effortlessly. Kiba was beginning to lose his cool, and Sakura wasn't making it any easier for him.

"Damn it, Kiba! Do something! I can't get a hit in if you don't create an opening, you moron!" Sakura screeched.

"Shut up, Sakura! I'm trying to create one, but she keeps evading me! Why don't you do something, instead of sitting to the side! Use your kunai to create an opening for me!" Kiba yelled, while engaging Haku.

As Sakura went for her kunai, a senbon needle pierced clear through her hand. She screamed in pain as Haku spoke. "You know…it isn't very smart to yelled your plan out in front of your advesary. Besides, what you told her should've been common knowledge anyway."

Sakura stood frozen on the training ground, fearing that she would become the target of another senbon needle. Kiba, however, called Akamaru in for backup. "Alright! Time to get serious!" Kiba yelled throwing Akamaru a soldier pill. After ingesting the pill, Akamaru started to transform.

_Sasuke vs Sai_

Even with his Sharingan, Sasuke was being completely outclassed by Sai. Sai's ink clone and summons were completely overwhelming only did Sasuke have to deal ink clones and four legged beast made from ink, but he also had to be wary of ink snakes that would attempt to tie up his legs and the flying ink bird that Sai rode on. Then there was also Sai, himself. With all the distractions, Sasuke was hard pressed to actually engage the real Sai.

"Come down here and fight, you coward!" Sasuke yelled up to Sai.

"Come down? Nah, I think I'm doing pretty good up here."

"Heh. So you're a coward…like you _brother_, Naruto!"

Sai narrowed his eyes for an instant, then smiled at the Uchiha. "Well, that means a lot coming from you, considering that your dickless, mental case of a brother was the traitor that destroyed your entire family."

Saying that Sai's statement had enraged Sasuke would have been an understatement. Sasuke went into a fit of rage, using every fire jutsu he knew, aiming at Sai. Sai sailed passed each jutsu without much effort, but Sasuke was so enraged that he just kept sending them, determined to kill Sai for even mentioning Itachi.

_Kakashi vs Naruto_

Kakashi had been destroying clones since the beginning of the fight, while the real Naruto sat on a branch, watching the fight.

"If this is all you have, then I'm afraid that you overestimated your ability, Naruto." Kakashi said, destroying the last of the 50 bushin that were attacking him.

"Kakashi, I really suggest that you start taking this seriously. You will regret it if you don't…and I really have no desire to kill you because of your laziness."

"Your arrogance will be the death of you, Nar-."

"No! Your arrogance will be the death of you, Kakashi!" Naruto yelled, startling Kakashi.

Before Kakashi could speak, Naruto beat him to it. "Do you really think that I was just sitting up here watching you fight my kage bushin for no reason? I've been gathering information on you, through the damn clones, baka. I've already analyzed your strength, speed, and style. I suggest that you uncover that Sharingan of yours, otherwise this fight isn't going to last very long at all."

'Wha-...Shit! I underestimated him. I never expected him to use the kage bushin like that. This could become quite troublesome.' Kakashi thought, as he now uncovered his famed Sharingan.

"It's about time you got serious. Now, the real fun can begin." Naruto said, jumping off of his branch.

After staring each other down, Kakashi came to a frightening realization. Though Naruto used no stance, Kakashi couldn't find a weakness to exploit. 'What the hell? There aren't any openings, yet he's just standing there. Well...I guess I'll just have to make one!' Kakashi thought to himself as he threw two shuriken, aimed at Naruto's head.

Kakashi's eyes went wide when his shuriken landed gently on Naruto's index and middle finger. "You're gonna have to do better than that, Kakashi." Naruto said.

Somewhat angered by Naruto's nonchalant attitude(irony!), Kakashi started going through hand seals, ending with the tora seal. 'Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu' Kakashi mentally screamed, sending a house sized fireball at Naruto.

'That's more like it, Kakashi!' thought Naruto, as he did a one single-handed seal that was alien to Kakashi. 'Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu!(Water Dragon Bullet Technique)'.

As the two jutsu met, it was clear that Naruto's water dragon was more than enough to handle Kakashi's fireball, even if Kakashi didn't make it as strong as he could have. 'What the fuck is going on here? There is no way that Naruto is this strong! I could understand being stronger than Sasuke, but he just used the Suiryūdan no Jutsu with only one hand! That's just...impossible! There is no way he's more advance with water jutsu than the Nidame Hokage!'.

When the smoke cleared, Kakashi was nowhere in sight. Naruto immediately jumped off the ground, just in time to escape Kakashi's grasp. "Impressive, Kakashi." Naruto said, landing on a branch. "But you're still holding back."

"Look, Naruto, you may be advanced for your age, but I could possibly kill you if I went all out. So you can forget about me going all out against you."

Naruto assumed a thinking pose before replying. "So then you forfeit the spar?"

"No."

"Hmmm. Well, there's only one way to proceed then."

"Oh? And what's that?"

"To beat you to within an inch of your life. That way, you'll either be forced to forfeit or go all out. Either way is fine with."

Before Kakashi could retort, he found himself spewing the contents of his stomach, while bending over Naruto's shoulder.

'Fast!...I...I didn't even...see him move!' thought Kakashi.

Before Kakashi could recover from the punch to the stomach, Naruto kicked his foot backwards, planting his heel into Kakashi's face. Holding his face in pain, Kakashi took two steps backward, only to trip and fall on his back. When Kakashi opened his eyes to see what he had tripped over, he was shocked at what he saw.

'A kage bushin! When did he have time to make that?'

It was the oldest prank in the book. One person gets on his hands and knees, behind the unsuspecting victim. The second person pushes the victim over the kneeling person, leading to the unexpected fall of the victim. Normally this would require two people, but Naruto seemed to have found a way around that. But this revealed to Kakashi one very important and shocking detail.

'He's toying with me!'

Kakashi had little time to ponder, due to the axe kick aimed toward his head. Kakashi rolled out of the way and jumped back, skidding to a stop. He looked up and saw a mini crater where his head was, not more than two seconds ago. Realizing that the situation was far worse than he had originally thought, Kakashi decided to stop holding back.

After going through a series of hand seals, Kakashi grabbed his right arm, as his hand was surrounded with electricity. "Sorry, Naruto, but this little spar ends here." Kakashi said, as he bolted toward a smirking Naruto, with speed that would make Maito Gai proud.

Kakashi jammed his hand into Naruto's right shoulder, though Naruto's smirk never left his face. When Kakashi finally noticed the smirk, it was too late. Naruto grabbed Kakashi arm with his free hand. Kakashi charged more lightning chakra into his hand, to break Naruto's grasp. Sadly, that was Kakashi's undoing.

As lightning shot through Naruto's body, his form started to waver. Suddenly, 'Naruto' exploded into a sphere of water, one that engulfed Kakashi. Because of the level of Kakashi's lightning jutsu, Kakashi collapsed but remained conscious.

"You should think about the jutsu that you use, otherwise they could be used against you, Kakashi-baka." Naruto said, stepping from behind a random tree.

"That's...my...line." said an exhausted Kakashi.

Suddenly, Sai and Haku landed beside Naruto. "How'd it go?" asked Naruto.

"Well, Kiba was better than I initially thought, but Sakura was completely useless. She actually made it easier for me to handle Kiba." stated Haku.

"What about you, Sai? Have any trouble with the Uchiha?" asked Naruto.

"The kid's a true dumbass." Sai said, in a flabbergasted tone.

"Well, we know that. But how did you subdue him?" asked Naruto.

"That's just it. I didn't subdue him. I mentioned Itachi and he became so enraged that he started using fire jutsu, directed at me, until he passed out from chakra exhaustion." Sai said, shaking his head.

"Dumbass." Naruto and Haku said, simultaneously, as they sweat-dropped.

"Naruto." Kakashi said in a low tone, still looking completely exhausted.

"Yeah?" Naruto asked.

"How did you get so strong? I...it should have been impossible for you to defeat a jounin, your only a genin."

"In title, maybe, but I trained very hard to acquire the skill that I possess. Also, using shadow clones doesn't hurt."

"What do you mean?"

"A clone's experience goes to the user after it disperses. I can easily make a thousand clones. I think that you can figure the rest out."

Kakashi's eyes widened. "How long?"

"How long have I trained like that?"

Kakashi just nodded his head, slowly, as if he was afraid of the answer.

"That's...a secret." Naruto said, with a wink. "Now, what were the terms of this bet again?" Naruto asked, with a thoughtful expression.

"Shit..." Kakashi muttered.

_One week later..._

Haku had finished her sessions with Ibiki and had become an official member of Team Anko aka 'The Rejects'. They trained through the entire week, perfecting their teamwork, as well as their individual skills, for the upcoming chuunin exams.

Today was the day of the chuunin exams, and the tension could be felt in the air between the participants within Konoha. However, three genin acted as if they didn't have a care in the world.

Naruto stood at the entrance of the academy building, leaning against the wall next to front doors, chewing on a senbon needle. He stared lazily at each participant that enter the building, making eye contact with each aspiring chuunin. He even eyed the Sand Team, though he did give Gaara a nod, which was returned in by the gourd wearing Sand nin.

Finally, Haku and Sai arrived, looking just as relaxed as Naruto.

"Yo." Naruto said, with a lazy salute, not unlike Kakashi.

"You know, Naruto-nii-san, your developing a really bad habit of chewing on my senbon needles. I had to go buy some more to replace the ones that you took." said Haku, with a playful glare.

"So, why are you here so early." asked Sai.

"Figured I'd get a better look at what we'll be dealing with."

"And?" Sai asked.

"Should be fun."

"Don't look now, but Kakashi's team's coming." Haku said.

Sure enough, Kiba and Sakura were being led by the 'last Uchiha'.

"Talk about the wrong stuff." Sai said, just loud enough for the team to hear him.

"What was that, Sai-baka?" Sakura screech.

"Oh, nothing. I was just making an observation about your team." Sai said

"Well, shut damn your mouth or I'll shut it!" Sakura yelled, veins bulging in her huge forehead.

"I'd like to see you try." Haku said in a low tone, glaring daggers at Sakura.

Sakura was visibly shaken by the girl's glare. She had seen what Haku could do, so she definitely didn't want to do anything to provoke the ice user.

"Sakura. Kiba. Let's go. We don't have time to argue with these losers." Sasuke spat, glaring at Naruto.

"Funny. If I'm not mistaken, you've been beaten by everyone on my team, Uchiha." Naruto said, giving Team 7 the same appraising stare that he had given the rest of the genin entering the building.

"Well, we'll see how funny you are when we meet in the exams! We've been training our asses off with Kakashi-sensei. You won't have anywhere to run once the exam starts, dobe!" spat Sasuke, before entering the building with a glaring Sakura and Kiba following suit.

"That kid's in for a rude awakening." Said Naruto.

"No doubt." Said Sai

"You guys ready?" Asked Haku.

"Ready as ever." Replied Naruto.

"Well, you know what ol' Sai Namikaze says at time like this? Ol' Sai always says 'what the hell'." said Sai.

Naruto and Haku deadpanned at Sai's over-dramatic response, before regaining there bearings. "Let's go, guys." Said Naruto, before entering the Academy building, followed by Sai and Haku.

**A/N: **There we go. Sorry for the long hiatus. I was doing research, while simultaneously handling everyday business. Oh, how I wish I was still a kid. If you are under 18, enjoy your care-free lives while you can, you lucky little bastards.

Important announcement regarding story: For those that like how the story is going, how Naruto's life is looking up, be prepared to have your heart fucking broken, son! I read a comment that put me back into the right frame of mind. You see, I set out to make a dark story, but ended up getting side tracked. I don't want Naruto to be happy, I want him to be bad ass (refer to Berserks' Gutz or Gutts). Therefore, this story will be changing, for the better IMO. Some people will be dying soon, and don't think I forgot about Mizuki. I have something special in mind for him.


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